MARK Beesley says his Warrington Town side will have to be wary of the effect of new manager Kevin Phillips on today's opponents South Shields.

The former England striker takes charge of the Mariners for the first time today as they visit Cantilever Park for a clash of two promotion hopefuls.

It is Phillips' first foray into management following a playing career that saw him win the Premier League Golden Boot for the 1999-2000 season with Sunderland among other things.

His side – the Northern Premier League Premier Division's only full-time team – are third in the table with games in hand on all of their rivals although a win for fifth-place Yellows could lift them above the Tynesiders in the table.

Beesley says Phillips' appointment will aid the profile of the division as a whole as well as today's opponents but he insists his side must focus solely on themselves this afternoon.

Former Sunderland and England striker Kevin Phillips takes charge of South Shields for the first time today. Picture by SWPix.com

Former Sunderland and England striker Kevin Phillips takes charge of South Shields for the first time today. Picture by SWPix.com

"We’ll definitely have to be aware of it," he said on Phillips' impact on the visitors.

"They’ve got full-time players and the way they play is very attractive, but we’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves.

"We’ve worked on what we’re good at as well as what we need to improve on, and I’m sure you’ll see that today.

"I’m sure the excitement levels of their players and fans have gone through the roof.

"To work with someone of that calibre, I’m sure each and every player was made up.

"Kevin Phillips coming in doesn’t just helps South Shields but it helps the profile of the league, too. It’s a league full of quality and him coming in helps everybody."

South Shields last visited Cantilever Park for a league fixture in September 2018 - a game Yellows won 3-0. Picture by John Hopkins

South Shields last visited Cantilever Park for a league fixture in September 2018 - a game Yellows won 3-0. Picture by John Hopkins

In the days building up to the game, Beesley made his first new signings since taking over as Yellows boss in order to boost his squad.

Left-back Lewis Coulton and winger Lewis Bell have joined on loan from Preston North End and Carlisle United respectively and are both set to be in today's matchday squad.

Coulton played against Yellows for Bamber Bridge earlier this month as part of an eight-game loan spell with Town's promotion rivals.

Once his availability became known, Beesley says trying to sign him was "a no-brainer" as their search for a left-back to cover for the injured Eddie Clarke finally bears fruit.

"We realised his potential a while ago – we’d watched Bamber Bridge a few times and he did well, and he played well against us," he said.

"Once we knew he was going back to Preston, it was a no-brainer to try and get him in.

"He gives us that natural left-sidedness that we’ve been missing, although the lads that have filled in at left-back have done well."

Lewis Coulton tackles Yellows full-back James Baillie while on loan at Bamber Bridge earlier this month. Picture by Jonathan Moore

Lewis Coulton tackles Yellows full-back James Baillie while on loan at Bamber Bridge earlier this month. Picture by Jonathan Moore

On Bell, the Town boss said: "We’ve been looking for an extra wide player as we play with wingers quite a lot.

"It’s competition for places and he gives us a bit of added quality. He can play on the left or the right so it adds to what we already have.

"It just adds to the squad we have as we’ve got a tough run of games coming up with some Tuesday games thrown in. We just felt we needed to bolster things a little bit."

Beesley confirmed that there were no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, with Clarke and forward Dom Reid set to be absent for another month.

Midfielder Matty McDonald's loan at Bootle has been extended by a further month while Town have confirmed the departure of striker Jamie McDonald due to increased work commitments.