2 weeks Ago By Mark Carruthers
Sign up to our daily newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Former Sunderland star Brian Atkinson has been told he has done ‘a fantastic job’ as manager of Northern Premier League East Division club Newton Aycliffe - by the man hoping to dent his play-off hopes. Aycliffe will host former Northern League rivals Dunston UTS as both sides look to officially confirm their top five place in non-league’s fourth tier on Monday afternoon and take a big step closer towards what would be another historic promotion for both clubs.
Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of the game, Dunston manager Jon McDonald hailed the progress Aycliffe have made under former Black Cats midfielder Atkinson and is relishing a big occasion at the Ashcourt Group Stadium as the two sides look to secure second place in the table during the final week of the season. He told The Echo: “I like Brian, I have a lot of respect for him and I like the way his team plays. He’s done a fantastic job at Aycliffe and we know it will be a severe test.
Every time we play against them, it’s always been a really good game between two sides that have a very similar style of play. I have huge respect for Brian and I am genuinely looking forward to the game because I am absolutely sure it will be a good game and a big one for both of us in terms of the play-offs.” Dunston have been dealt some bad news ahead of the game after key defender Tom Devitt suffered a broken ankle in last weekend’s defeat at Consett and will now focus his attempts on returning to fitness ahead of pre-season.
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