'Absolutely incredible' South Shields stalwart hailed after landmark appearance

Elliott Dickman described South Shields stalwart Robert Briggs as ‘absolutely incredible’ after he surpassed 450 appearances for the Mariners.

The versatile midfielder has been part of the club since their days in the Northern League’s second tier and continues to be an integral cog in the setup at the 1st Cloud Arena as Dickman’s side compete alongside the likes of Scunthorpe United, Kidderminster Harriers and Darlington in the National League North.

It was against the latter that Briggs racked up his 450th appearance for the club on Good Friday and he has shown now signs of slowing as he has continued to be a regular feature in Dickman’s sides throughout what has been a challenging season in non-league football’s second tier.

Speaking after Monday’s home defeat against Spennymoor Town, Dickman hailed the impact Briggs has made throughout his two spells with the club and believes the veteran ‘fully deserves’ all of the praise that has come his way.

The former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach told The Gazette: “He is absolutely incredible. I actually had to apologise to Robert because I meant to make a big thing within our group in private last Friday. We did it on Sunday and it’s incredible to reach that number of games.

“It’s outstanding at any level of football, he never misses out, he trains daily but he has a full-time job so he’s not with us as much as the other lads but he has stayed fit, he’s looked after himself and he’s been brilliant all year. For him to have reached what he has speaks volumes of him as a man, he’s a leader and his desire to win games is still there. All of the praise he gets is certainly merited because it’s fully deserved.”

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