South Shields urged to 'cherish' the pressure in key Macclesfield test

South Shields manager Ian Watson has called on his players to ‘cherish’ the battle they will face in Tuesday night’s home clash with National League North rivals Macclesfield.

The Mariners can move to the top of the table with a win over the Silkmen after their weekend victory at Radcliffe took them to within three points of current leaders AFC Fylde. Saturday could be viewed as a turning point in the title race after the Coasters suffered a defeat at Chester as Watson’s side were securing a much-needed win at the Neuven Stadium.

However, the home clash with Macclesfield will provide a severe test of their promotion credentials as the visitors arrive on South Tyneside on the back of a run of seven wins in their last eight league games. The Silkmen will also take heart from a positive record against the Mariners this season after they claimed a 1-0 home win in the reverse fixture in October before sending Watson’s side out of the FA Trophy with a narrow victory at the 1st Cloud Arena just under two months later.

There will be unquestionable pressure on the Mariners as they look to deliver another blow in the race for a historic promotion into non-league’s top flight - but Watson has insisted his players must enjoy what lies ahead of them over the next fortnight.

He told The Gazette: “It’s because it’s Macclesfield and because of how well they are doing, they’re the most in-form side in the league and they’ve beaten us twice this season. So that’s what makes it such a big occasion but it’s one that we are really looking forward to as a club.

“At the start of the season, you would have cherished being in these moments and if they were offered to you back then you’d have said ‘absolutely’. This is why we do it, we do it to be in these games, to be in these huge games and to put yourself to the test. You have to enjoy the unknown of not knowing what’s going to happen over the next two weeks but you have to just enjoy it all as much as you can.”

Energy

Despite the high pressure stakes with the season now in its closing stages, Watson has urged his players to solely focus their attention on beating the Silkmen for the first time this season and revealed he won’t even look at the league table as his side look to bring a successful end to their title bid.

“All we can do is focus on what is right ahead of us and that is Macclesfield,” he explained. “If you start thinking about anything else, it’s just wasted energy. I’m not looking at the league table and I know that’s crazy because we are at the business end and it’s important we get wins but I can’t analyse it. I just analyse how we have played, where we can get better and what we need to do to get a win in our next game.”

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