Exclusive:South Shields manager makes transfer admission as Sunderland and Middlesbrough agreements close
South Shields are close to receiving a major boost as they look to secure promotion into the National League.
South Shields manager Ian Watson has admitted he is keen to add to his squad over the coming weeks as the National League North leaders close on agreements for Sunderland and Middlesbrough youngsters.
The Mariners are currently enjoying the benefit of a two-week break after a hectic festive period saw Watson’s men collect ten points from four games in the space of 15 days and preserved their place at the top of the National League North table. However, the Mariners boss has been forced to carefully manage his squad as several experienced players have remained on the sidelines with injuries in recent weeks. That has meant academy products like Evan Blaney and James Sloan have been named amongst the substitutes throughout that time.
Wigan Athletic goalkeeper Tom Watson has extended his loan stint with the Mariners for another month and Watson remains keen to retain the services of Sunderland wing-back Oliver Bainbridge and Middlesbrough midfielder Luke Woolston. The Gazette understands the latter of that young duo is undergoing assessment at Boro after suffering a knee injury but is highly likely to spend the remainder of the season with South Shields in what would be a major boost to their bid for a historic promotion into the National League. An extension of Bainbridge’s loan deal is also believed to be close and is expected to be finalised over the coming days as the Black Cats youngsters get a chance to continue playing an integral role in the push for non-league’s top tier.
Watson praised the Mariners academy players that have trained alongside his senior players and been forced into bench duty over the last month - but stressed his desire to boost his squad as he looks to build on an impressive first half of the season.
Strengthen
He told The Gazette: “We are always looking to strengthen. We’ve got a few senior lads out at the moment so we are having to patch up the bench with some of the younger boys within the squad and they have been fantastic for us. They’ve trained and worked really hard for us and they have done so well. But we probably need to get some in to give the boys a little bit more help and to get some recruitment done if we can. We will see what happens but it is something we would like to do but we know it’s not easy.”
The Mariners are back in action on Saturday week when Leamington are the visitors to the 1st Cloud Arena.