Exclusive:South Shields skipper urges players to 'control emotions' ahead of National League North title decider
South Shields captain Robbie Tinkler looks ahead to Saturday’s National League North promotion decider at Kidderminster Harriers.
South Shields captain Robbie Tinkler believes his younger team-mates must do all they can to control their emotions as the Mariners look to secure the National League North title on Saturday afternoon.
Ian Watson’s side travel to Kidderminster Harriers sitting in second place in the table and they are two points adrift of leaders AFC Fylde ahead of the lunchtime kick-off.
The Coasters are in control of the title race ahead of the final 90 minutes of the campaign and they will be crowned champions if they can claim all three points in their visit to play-off contenders Merthyr Town.
However, any slip-up could open the door for South Shields - although they face a sizeable test against a Harriers side that have already landed their own place in the play-offs.
‘Control your own emotions’
The stakes are high as Watson’s men prepare for one final push for the title and a historic promotion into the top flight of non-league football - and Tinkler is hoping he can help his younger team-mates thrive in such a challenging environment.
He told The Gazette: “There is a little bit of impetus on the younger lads to learn and grow with all of this.
“I learnt from my first Wembley trip with Gateshead that my preparations for the game were good but not great and how I approached it, I thought I did it right, but I allowed the emotions to get the better of me.
“Being in this situation, it can be comforting for the young lads to bounce off the younger players, but we can only say words, and we will do that.
“But there is a need to control your own emotions, to find a way, and it will be interesting to see how the lads react.”
A nerve-shredding afternoon lies in wait and the Mariners could be forgiven for being distracted by events elsewhere as they await news on Fylde’s attempts to beat them to the title with a win at Merthyr.
‘Block out the noise’
Yet Tinkler and his team-mates must keep their own title hopes alive by securing a win against Kidderminster and avenging a rare home defeat they suffered against their hosts earlier in the season.
The former York City and Aldershot Town defender has called for focus from his team-mates and insisted they ‘can’t take their eye off the ball’ by getting overly concerned by events with their title rivals.
“We just have to block out the noise from elsewhere,” he admitted.
“We know what Kidderminster can do because they gave us arguably our toughest game at home. We struggled to find answers to them. The coaches have done a great deal of work on how to combat them and be effective.
“I think we have taken it on board - and first and foremost, we have to go and win the game on Saturday because they have experience with a flourish of youth and we know they want to win at home.
“It’s a tough test so we can’t take our eye off the ball and worry about what’s going on elsewhere.”