South Shields manager Ian Watson praises mentality of former Middlesbrough forward
Former Middlesbrough youngster Sonny Finch has impressed since joining South Shields.
South Shields manager Ian Watson has praised the mentality shown by former Middlesbrough youngster Sonny Finch as he looks to help his side secure promotion into the National League.
The Boro academy product joined the National League North title contenders on loan in January and score six goals and provided 13 assists in just 13 appearances before making a permanent move to the 1st Cloud Arena late last month. Since becoming a permanent member of Watson’s squad, Finch has struggled to replicate the impact he made during his temporary spell - but that all changed on Tuesday night as South Shields moved back to the top of the National League North table with a 4-1 home win against Macclesfield.
The 20-year-old had already set up Sean McGurk to open the scoring in the first three minutes of the game by the time he got himself on the scoresheet with a neat finish after some clever interplay with fellow forward Paul Blackett. That came after Finch had been unable to convert two good opportunities during the opening 45 minutes - but his reaction to that disappointment was a major positive for his manager.
Watson said: “Sonny missed a couple of one-on-ones and Sonny’s development is that he needs to stop getting in his own head when he misses them. I spoke to him at half-time and I could see that he was at himself and then he gets an assist for Sean McGurk and gets a goal himself as well. His development is coming on really well and the mentality side of things from him is brilliant.
“I speak to all of the boys a lot and there is nobody that knows the boys as well as us as coaches and how they are in a football environment. I’ve spoken to Sonny a lot and he has said when he misses a chance it eats him up a little bit. I spoke to him about Mo Salah at half-time and how many chances he misses but he has a smile on his face every time and he is ready for the next one. I was pleased he got that because now he knows that the next time he misses a chance, it’s fine because it’s the next one that is important.”