THE joint manager of Witton Albion’s FA Cup opponents has said his players are not frightened of a higher-ranked foe.

South Shields travel to Northwich from the north east tomorrow buoyed by making a flawless start to their first season in the Northern Premier League.

Those four victories, added to another in the preliminary round at home to Bridlington, have extended an unbeaten run in all competitions beyond 40 matches.

“It’s been a great start to collect maximum points,” Graham Fenton told the Newcastle-based Journal.

“We’re blessed with a fantastically-talented squad, and we go into every game – whether it’s at home or away – with the same mentality.

“We have done our homework [on Witton], and if I’m honest we’d have a couple of different reports.

“That might mean we have to suss them out on the day, but we’ll certainly not fear them.

“It will be unusual for us to be slight underdogs, and we are – any side that goes into a game against a side from a higher level should be seen that way.”

Fenton, along with co-boss Lee Picton, will have Carl Finnigan available again after the forward completed a three-match ban.

Meanwhile Julio Arca, a former fans’ favourite at both Middlesbrough and Sunderland, made his first appearance of the campaign during last Saturday’s single-goal success against Bamber Bridge.

That duo was both part of a side that four trophies last season, including the FA Vase at Wembley.

Fenton added: “While what happened last year has gone now, the belief it has given us is still there.

“We’ll play our brand of football and try to score goals, even if we may look at certain games against better opposition and start more defensively.

“We’ll be a bit cautious [on Saturday]; if we open the game up straight away, we might get into bother.”