Watson demands 'right mentality' as South Shields prepare for AFC Fylde test

South Shields have been told they must ‘draw a curtain’ over their FA Cup disappointment and fully focus on a crucial trip to National League North promotion rivals AFC Fylde on Wednesday night.

The Mariners were left disappointed when a dogged and disciplined performance saw League Two club Shrewsbury Town inflict a 3-1 defeat on Ian Watson’s men in Sunday’s televised FA Cup first round tie at the 1st Cloud Arena.

If there is a positive for the Mariners, it is that their focus must now immediately switch to their visit to a Fylde side that took over at the top of the National League North table with a 1-0 win at Marine on Saturday afternoon. Ahead of the trip to Mill Farm, Watson stressed the need for focus as his side look to avoid a third consecutive defeat in all competitions.

He told The Gazette: “The next game is always the biggest game of our lives because it’s the only one we can effect. We have to make sure we go into that game with the right mentality, we have to draw a curtain over the Shrewsbury game because that’s over and done with now and we have to move on.

“We’ve had a good cup run, we’ve started the season well but the job is far from done and we go into Fylde on the back of back-to-back defeats so we have to address that. We have to stand up for it and we have to make sure when Wednesday comes around we are ready to go, we are ready to attack the game and we are in the best possible mental and physical state we can be in to get a positive result.”

Exciting

There will be a new face in the Mariners squad after they completed the loan signing of Derby County striker Lennon Wheeldon. The 20-year-old made his Championship debut earlier this year as a substitute in a narrow defeat against Swansea City and featured alongside the likes of Sunderland goalkeeper Matty Young and Arsenal star Ethan Nwaneri when he won three England Under-19 caps last year.

Speaking of the deal to land the highly-rated youngster, Watson said: “We’re really pleased to bring Lennon into the club. He’s an exciting young player and highly thought of. He gives us a different option and the fans will love his energy.”

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