South Shields travel to Scarborough Athletic for the first game of the new National League North season on Saturday.

South Shields FC defender Dillon Morse believes his side’s positive preparations for the new season have allowed the Mariners to head into Saturday’s National League North opener at Scarborough Athletic with momentum behind them.

It has been a hectic summer of activity for the Mariners with major change on and the pitch since the end of a season that saw them come within 90 minutes of securing promotion into the top tier of the non-league game. The disappointment of the play-off final home defeat against Kidderminster Harriers appears to have been washed away gradually throughout the summer and there is a fierce determination to go one step further and take the club within one promotion of a place in the EFL.

South Shields defender Dillon Morse (photo Kevin Wilson) | Kevin Wilson

placeholder image — South Shields defender Dillon Morse (photo Kevin Wilson) | Kevin Wilson

A visit to Scarborough on Saturday afternoon will provide the Mariners with a familiar opposition for the first game of Mike Williamson’s managerial reign as they take on a side they have become accustomed to facing over recent seasons. With a positive pre-season behind them, Morse believes the Mariners squad is settled as they prepare to get the competitive action underway at last.

He told The Gazette: “We are ready for the game, definitely. I think we have done well in pre-season, especially the last few games when things have started to come together. Obviously, there have been changes so it can take time to settle down but I think you can see the progress we have made during pre-season. We are heading into the season with momentum behind us and who knows where that can take us.”

Incredible

Sonny Finch grabs the only goal of South Shields FC's pre-season friendly win against Dagenham and Redbridge (photo Kevin Wilson) | Kevin Wilson

The Mariners rounded off their preparations for the new league season with a win against National League South side Dagenham and Redbridge on what was a special day for Morse.

The club stalwart celebrated ten years as a Mariner with a testimonial fixture against a Daggers side containing former Newcastle United, Liverpool and England striker Andy Carroll - and featured for over 80 minutes as Sonny Finch grabbed the only goal at Mariners Park.

Although the day was about celebrating what has been an incredible decade for Morse and the club as a whole, the long-serving defender insisted the most important aspect of the day was ensuring he and his team-mates were fully prepared for the challenges that lie in wait this season.

“It was an incredible day,” he explained. “But the most important thing was to get the win. It was my testimonial, I came out of the tunnel and got my claps from the crowd - but then you have to get into the mindset of preparing for the Scarborough game. It was a week before the season starting so we had to be focused, we had to be on it and we had to be ready because it was an important game. I am glad we were able to put in a good performance and get a result to round off pre-season.”

Williamson could hand competitive debuts to a number of summer signings with the likes of Adam Campbell, Toby Onanaye and Khanya Leshabela all in contention to feature.

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