The young Magpies’ last two games have both been postponed, with tonight’s clash set to be their first for a fortnight and their last until the New Year.

Prior to the cold snap, Peter Beardsley’s side appeared to have turned a corner, winning four times out of five after a difficult two-month period.

And Yarney is hopeful United can pick up where they left off when the Braves – currently second in the Ebac Northern League Division Two – visit Whitley Park.

“It’s hard, coming into the winter period the weather has an effect. The last two games have been called off, but we’d been on a good little run – we won three – after going through a little difficult patch,” he told nufc.co.uk. “There were a couple of games where we weren’t quite ourselves. We got beat 6-0 by Aston Villa, and that was quite hard, but we regrouped, got a win and kicked on from there, and confidence grew.

“Playing Newcastle United will be a huge game for Blyth. For us, we’re coming up against elder, more experienced players like we did in the Checkatrade Trophy. I like it – you play your Readings and your Villas in the Premier League 2, then you play teams like PSV in the (Premier League) International Cup, and now we’re playing against people who work during the day, come in and train once a week and play.”

Liverpudlian Yarney is midway through his first campaign at United’s Little Benton Academy, and has been pleased with the progress he has made since arriving on Tyneside from Everton.

“I’ve played a lot of football, coming from last season where I didn’t play as much. That’s the main thing I was looking for,” he said.

“And to be fair, I think Geordies are a lot similar to Scousers – dead friendly and welcoming – so settling in has been fine!”