South Shields will be roared on by a big crowd when they face Newport Pagnell in the quarter finals of the FA Buildbase Vase on Saturday.

FA Vase fever has well and truly caught hold in the town, and a crowd of well over 2,000 is expected this afternoon as Shields seek their 19th successive win in all competitions and attempt to continue the Northern League’s domination of the Vase.

South Shields joint manager Lee Picton said: "We're all aware of how many tickets have been sold and what kind of experience it's going to be for everyone concerned. Our sole focus has just been about coming up with a real solid gameplan, and identifying how we're going to go about our business and execute that gameplan.

"We're going to have to deal with the occasion. To be honest, there have been a couple of similar occasions already this season where we've perhaps not done ourselves justice or been near the top of our game. Hopefully those experiences that we've had already this season in front of a packed Mariners Park will give us the confidence to put a better show on. Fingers crossed we can do that, because if we do, we've already proved that we're more than a match for any side at this level. It's about focusing on us, getting our levels right and being as good as we can be on Saturday."

Former Sunderland and Middlesbrough midfielder Julio Arca, who scored with a 40 yarder at Team Solent in the last round, said; : "I think this is going to be one of South Shields' biggest games for many years. The managers have been saying to us that we need to perform better than we did in the last two big games we had at Mariners Park, against Morpeth and North Shields. We didn't play the way we know we can in those two matches.

"It will be incredible to have so much support behind us. It's fantastic for the club and shows how much it has grown over the last 18 months. Everyone's eyes are going to be on us on Saturday and that is something we should be relishing as players. I believe it's in our hands. If we perform the way we know we can, I think our quality will shine. We need to do the basics right, play the football we like to play and work hard."

Defender Anthony Callaghan misses the game because he is cuptied, while midfielder LeePaul Scroggins is missing because of a broken leg Newport Pagnell came from behind to beat another ENL Club, Sunderland RCA, in the last round, and have never been this far in the competition before.