South Shields remain positive as Brackley Town lie in wait

Elliott Dickman wants South Shields to head into a tough-looking trip to Brackley Town with a positive attitude - despite suffering a disappointing home defeat against Radcliffe in midweek.

The Mariners had hoped to secure a second home win inside three days when they hosted Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley’s side on Tuesday - but came out on the wrong end of the result after a controversial night at the 1st Cloud Arena. A much-debated penalty decision led to a red card for South Shields wing-back Mackenzie Heaney and allowed Josh Hancock to score the only goal of the game.

That defeat saw the Mariners slip to sixteenth place in the table - although the competitive nature of the National League North means they are still just three points from the play-off spots. A win at Brackley on Saturday could, at very least, lift Dickman’s side above their hosts, who currently sit just one point and three places above South Shields. Ahead of the game at St James Park, Dickman called for a return to the performance that led to his side claiming all three points against Leamington seven days earlier.

He told The Gazette: “It will be a test and it feels like we are starting to make some positive steps forward. Tuesday just wasn’t our night for obvious reasons that were out of our control and the main thing now is that we have to bounce back. We have to make sure our performance is as good as it was last Saturday and go down there with a really positive attitude that can hopefully help us get a win.”

The return of striker Paul Blackett has provided a major boost for the Mariners as they enter a crucial part of their season. The former Gateshead and Spennymoor Town frontman hit 30 goals in his first season at the 1st Cloud Arena and was viewed as an integral figure within Dickman’s plans for his first season as the club’s permanent manager. However, with injuries limiting the impact he has made during the opening months of the season, Blackett has cut a frustrated figure as he was forced to watch on from the sidelines.

But his wait to return to the action came to an end when he came off the bench to replace Kyle Crossley in last weekend’s win against Leamington before getting another half an hour of action under his belt in the midweek loss against Radcliffe. Despite an unquestionable desire to get Blackett back into his side, Dickman insisted the nature of his injury means he can’t afford to make ‘silly decisions’ with the striker’s involvement over the coming weeks.

The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach said: “He’s been excellent and he’s been chomping at the bit to get back. He’s been so frustrated over these last few weeks when he’s been out and he came on last Saturday and Tuesday but we have to be careful with him. I know people will think he needs to be starting games but he’s had a really bad injury and we were a bit lucky it wasn’t a really long-term one. He’s a massive player for us but we can’t make silly decisions and force him back to playing too much, too soon. We have to be sensible with him.”

The Mariners will assess the fitness of defender Tom Broadbent after he was replaced during the first-half of the midweek defeat.