Jim Bentley: We're still not clear of relegation threat

Jim Bentley insists his Morecambe side aren't yet assured of their Football League status next season.
Morecambe boss Jim Bentley. Picture: Matt RushtonMorecambe boss Jim Bentley. Picture: Matt Rushton
Morecambe boss Jim Bentley. Picture: Matt Rushton

A first win in 11 League 2 games over AFC Wimbledon on Saturday means The Shrimps are 13 points clear of the bottom two ahead of the trip to Kevin Nolan’s Leyton Orient on Saturday.

With 10 games to play Bentley’s men are seemingly all but clear of the threat of relegation but the Morecambe manager wants his side to make absolutely sure sooner rather than later.

He said: “I wouldn’t say we’re safe.

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“What it has done is give us a little extra breathing space.

“We’ve been dragged into the bottom part of the table and you do start looking over your shoulder, especially when you haven’t been getting the results.

“For the first part of the season we were looking at teams we could claw back in front of us.

“We were four or five points off the play-offs but the run we’ve been on is poor and we’ve drifted down the table.

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“We got three points on Saturday which means we’re 13 clear of York and 15 ahead of Dagenham.

“There is a good gap there but we can’t rely on anyone else it’s about getting our own house in order.

“We’ve drawn at Crawley, beaten AFC Wimbledon and now we go to Leyton Orient which is a very tough game for us but we’ll be looking to make it three unbeaten.”

Nolan’s Orient will provide a stern test of Morecambe’s improving fortunes, sitting outside the play-off places on goal difference having won 1-0 at high-flying Oxford last Saturday.

Bentley said: “They’re a massive club at our level.

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“They’ve come down from League 1 last season and have got a new manager in Kevin Nolan who seems to have given them a lift.

“He’s brought in some good players on loan, (Armand) Gnanduillet has scored a few up front and they’ve got the league’s top scorer (Jay Simpson) in their ranks as well.

“They’ll be missing one of their better players after he got sent off in the week (Mathieu Baudry).

“We know it will be a tough game but if we concentrate on ourselves and give it our best shot then that’s all we can do and hopefully we can come back up north with something to show for our efforts.”