Play-off experience can help South Shields in Kidderminster Harriers final test - Jack Roles
South Shields will face Kidderminster Harriers in the National League North play-off final on Saturday.
South Shields midfielder Jack Roles knows exactly what it takes to come through a successful play-off campaign - as Mariners manager Ian Watson discovered at his own cost.
The 27-year-old was part of the Crawley side that secured a League Two play-off spot with a seventh placed finish in the fourth tier of the English game during the 2023/24 season and that set up a semi-final showdown with MK Dons. Watson was working under Mike Williamson’s on the latter’s coaching staff at the time and he watched on as Roles and his team-mates romped to an 8-1 aggregate win before going on to secure a place in League One with a 2-0 Wembley win against Crewe Alexandra.
Watson joked he hoped the tie would not be mentioned as he and Roles conducted media duties ahead of South Shields’ National League North play-off final clash against Kidderminster Harriers - but the midfielder’s previous play-off experience was the subject of discussion. He stopped short of mentioning his previous triumph of his now-manager - but did give an insight into the conversations held amongst the Mariners squad and revealed why their play-off semi-final win against Buxton was ‘the perfect game’ to prepare for Saturday’s clash.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, the midfielder said: “I am not sure how many lads in the squad have been involved in play-offs - but we spoke about it before the semi-final as players. I think I said earlier, you have to see it as an opportunity, you can’t see it as a pressure moment because then you go into your shell a bit, anxiety creeps in and then you don’t do what you’ve done all season and that’s got you into the play-offs. There is no real point in doing that so when we spoke about it as players we said there’s no point in doing that against Buxton.
He continued: “They were the team in form in the play-offs and we’d had a bit of a dip so just go out there and give everything and that’s what we did. The game on Saturday, especially the last 10 to 15 minutes, when we were defending our box, that’s going to help us so much going into the final on Saturday and it’s an experience we’ve not had this season. I feel that was the perfect game for us, playing that semi-final, getting nerves off, and we can fully attack Saturday’s final.”
Different
Roles joined the Mariners in February and has quickly become accustomed to life back in the North East after enjoying a short spell with Gateshead during the second half of last season. The former Tottenham Hotspur youth product admitted he has enjoyed experiencing the passion in the region once again as he looks to help South Shields to a historic promotion this weekend.
He said: “It’s definitely different. They live it and breathe it a lot more, which is obviously a good thing being a footballer myself. Even in the streets, walking to the games, you bump into fans and it’s everything to them. It’s so good as a football fan.”