Watson hoping for 'perfect' start as South Shields prepare for Marine

Ian Watson believes facing Marine will provide South Shields with a ‘perfect’ opportunity to show the impact of their hard work during the summer months.

The Merseyside outfit provided the opposition for what would become the final game of former manager Elliott Dickman’s reign as they inflicted a heavy defeat on the Mariners on the closing day of last season. Watson was named as permanent successor to the former Newcastle United and Sunderland academy coach in June and has wasted little time in putting his own stamp on the squad he inherited with several impressive additions.

The likes of former Gateshead defender Robbie Tinkler, Sunderland academy graduate Caden Kelly and Swindon Town winger Sean McGurk could all make competitive debuts at the 1st Cloud Arena on Saturday - and Watson believes the game will allow players new and old to show how far they have come during the close-season.

He told The Gazette: “Elliott was an unbelievable coach and for one reason or another it didn’t work out in certain moments and that game seems to have been one of those moments. It’s a really good start for us, especially for the boys that were here last year because they will want to put that right.

“Nobody likes losing games like that and I am sure the boys that were here last season will want to show how far they have come on during the summer and the boys who are new to the club will want to make positive starts. It is going to look a little bit different this season in terms of how we want to play and how we address games and I am looking forward to the first game because I think it will be the perfect game to assess where we are at.”

Momentum

A sizeable crowd will be expected at the 1st Cloud Arena as Watson’s managerial reign officially gets underway against Bobby Grant’s side. The former Blyth Spartans and Darlington left-back is looking forward to receiving the support of the home faithful - but stressed his side must give energy to their supporters by producing a performance on the pitch.

He said: “We have talked about it a lot and how much we want to get the fans on board. It reminds me a little bit of when I was at Darlington and we used to say the Tin Shed used to suck the ball into the net. We want teams coming here to really feel it when we are on top because when the fans get behind the team, it’s really difficult for opposition to turn that momentum.

“But we have to give that energy to the fans, we can’t rely on them to just do it all of the time. We have to give energy on the pitch and then that energy will transfer to them so it’s something I am excited to ignite and something I am looking forward to witnessing.”

One player that will not feature for South Shields is former Newcastle United forward Kyle Crossley after he suffered a serious knee injury in a preseason friendly defeat against Carlisle United.

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