“It wasn’t anything system or personnel”: Morecambe manager's thoughts on FA Trophy exit
Morecambe manager Ashvir Singh Johal wants to see a huge improvement when they return to National League action on Saturday after a woeful start to the year.
Having seen their matches at Altrincham and Kidderminster Harriers postponed amid the recent freezing temperatures, the Shrimps kicked off their 2026 on Tuesday.
That saw them exit the FA Trophy with a humiliating 6-2 defeat in their rearranged match at Kidderminster.
For good measure, the Shrimps announced beforehand that Emmerson Sutton’s loan from QPR had been extended for the rest of the season – only for QPR to issue a statement on Wednesday saying his time with Morecambe had ended.
Next up for Morecambe is Saturday’s home game with Scunthorpe United as they look to climb out of the National League relegation positions.
Speaking after Tuesday’s game, Johal said: “From second one, they ran all over us, they showed more intent, they showed more passion, they showed more desire.
“All the things that we did well against Rochdale and Carlisle, the two games before, we were completely outclassed in all of those departments – whether they’re physical, whether they’re mental, whether they’re technical, tactical.
“All of the things they did well, we didn’t do well. It wasn’t anything system or personnel, it was pure heart, desire, work rate; things that we’ve done well in, in the last few weeks.
“The question now is going to be, was it a thing where we didn’t prepare well enough, the group thought they’d turn up and win easily, and it’d just be a given, or were they actually better in those moments than us?
“The worrying thing for us is going to be if what we see shows that it was just because they wanted it more than us, we’ve got to fix that quick because we’ve got three really important league games now.
“One thing I’ve realised is against the teams towards the top of the table – or the big name teams in our league – we turn up and we do those things.
“You look at all of our performances against the teams similar to us – or Chester, or this game – and we don’t do those things.
“We’ve got to get to the root as to why we don’t do them because there’s a trend now.”