Still more to come from side – Fenton

Graham Fenton insists there is more to come from South Shields as they look to retain top spot in the Northern Premier League tomorrow.

The Mariners - who have won four successive games in all competitions - are away to Matlock Town, who sit second-bottom.

Shields beat bottom side Lancaster City 2-0 on Tuesday with two second half goals as they climbed to the top of the table for the first time.

Joint manager Fenton is satisfied with their current placing, but is confident his players have even more in them.

He said: “Especially after the little blips we had at Farsley Celtic and North Ferriby in the opening few weeks of the season, we’re pleased to be top of the league.

“We had a poor week and we’ve bounced back exceptionally well from that.

“You want to be top of the league at any point of the season.

“Some people say that you don’t want to peak too early but of course you do.

“You want to be top of the league and for everyone else to be chasing you, so we’re delighted to be there.

“We’re just going to try to keep on improving over the next few weeks and months to make sure we stay there.”

Matlock manager Dave Hoole resigned on Monday following a 6-0 defeat at Basford United, and he was yesterday replaced by former Gainsborough Trinity boss Dave Frecklington.

Lancaster had also changed managers in the days leading up to Tuesday’s game, so Fenton is expecting a similar sort of test tomorrow.

He added: “It’s a similar situation to Lancaster and we’ll have to deal with whatever is thrown at us.

“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us as well, so we’ll hopefully get the atmosphere right on the bus, and get the warm-up and the start of the game right and hopefully we can bring three more points home.

“We know that we have to treat every single game on its own merits.

“We have to be adaptable and play against different formations and styles of play, teams pressing us and teams dropping off.

“We have to find a way, and I thought the lads did that on Tuesday.”