South Shields ready to move on from Macclesfield defeat after week of soul searching
The South Shields manager offered an open and honest assessment of his side's reaction to their FA Cup hammering at Macclesfield.
Elliott Dickman has revealed ‘no stone has been left unturned’ as South Shields look to bounce back from their heavy FA Cup second qualifying round defeat at Macclesfield last weekend.
There was bitter disappointment for a healthy band of travelling Mariners supporters when their side crashed to a 5-0 loss at the home of the Northern Premier League Premier Division leaders as any thoughts of a third first round appearance in five years came to an end. After a week of open and honest discussions in training, Dickman and his players are now focused on Saturday’s home clash with a Chorley side that are sat in third place in the National League North table ahead of their trip to the 1st Cloud Arena.
The meeting with the Magpies will provide the Mariners with an immediate opportunity to move on from their FA Cup exit - but will also offer them a stern test of their play-off credentials as they look to claim a win that could take them into the top seven of non-league’s second tier if results elsewhere go their way. Ahead of the game, Dickman challenged his squad to be ‘the best version of themselves’ as they look to return to winning ways in front of their home faithful.
He told The Gazette: “There is always going to be a rollercoaster ride within a season, there’s always going to be peaks and troughs and the important thing is how we manage the bad moments. So what we do internally is within our control, that’s all we know and we have been very good with that. The players have responded to a lot of things we have discussed, whether that’s collectively or individually. We want more of the highs than the troughs obviously - but football doesn’t always work that way. We just have to make sure we are ready for Saturday, there has been no stone left unturned in our preparation and we will make sure we are really at it and make sure we are the best version of ourselves.”
Although Dickman and assistant Andy Innes have led the analysis and conversations in the aftermath of last Saturday’s defeat, the Mariners boss revealed experienced duo Robert Briggs and Martin Smith have played a significant role in helping his squad undertake ‘a little bit of soul searching’ as they prepare to return to league action on Saturday.
He said: “The senior players have been excellent, particularly Briggsy and Smudger. They’ve taken the bull by the horns and the players have had some deep conversations themselves and they’ve done a little bit of soul searching between them. We are managing how we are and the fact the players have had these conversations and have been first class in training speaks a lot of them.”
Dickman confirmed he has now new injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s game and that could mean the likes of Sam Hodgson and Ashton Mee could be handed a recall to the starting eleven.