Marc Nash’s men secured the Northern League title on Friday afternoon and lifted the champions trophy on Monday following their 4-2 win at West Allotment Celtic. That win over Jay Bates’ side saw Nash hand starts to several young players including JJ Chrisp, Josh Walker and Dan Turner.
That has been a constant theme throughout what has been a highly successful season for North Shields with former Newcastle United academy keeper Olly Marshall establishing himself as the club’s number one and Cam Cunningham establishing himself as one of the Northern League’s brightest prospects. Their title win and subsequent promotion means the crop of promising youngsters will get their opportunity to test themselves in non-league’s fourth tier - and Ormston sees no reason why they can’t succeed.
He told ChronicleLive: “The young players have been an absolute pleasure to play alongside this season. I’ve been playing for 18 or 19 seasons and I have been amongst loads of young lads during that time.
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“I’ve tried to be the mentor and all that - but this current crop is absolutely second-to-none. They listen to everything you say, every word of advice and they’ve also got a little bit about them as well.
“They are talented lads. They’ve been brilliant and we are massively looking forward to what is ahead of us at the next level.”
At the age of 38, there had been suggestions Ormston could bring an end to his 19-year playing career when the current season comes to a close with next weekend’s visit to West Auckland Town. The midfielder has rejected offers to move to a higher level in the past after being the subject of interest from clubs currently in the National League North and Northern Premier League.
However, he remains keen to play on and is determined to take on a “great challenge” alongside the likes of Dunston UTS and Hebburn Town in the Northern Premier League’s East Division. Talks over his future are understandably yet to take place as the Robins continue to celebrate only the second Northern League title win in their history.
But the focus will soon turn towards planning for a historic season over the coming weeks and Ormston is keen to remain with the Robins and feature in their squad when they kick-off their first ever season in the Northern Premier League. “I was looking at what is in that level yesterday and I’ve turned down the chance to travel at a higher level in the past.
“I was looking thinking why not? Why not have a go? I’m not retiring just yet, so let’s see what next season brings.
“I think people maybe read a lot into the fact I took that penalty at Whitley Bay on Friday and saw something different. But what lies ahead is a great challenge for everyone connected with the football club and we will do everything we can to do what we have to do at that level.
"Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?”
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