Morecambe bos Bentley: Bristol Rovers are unpredictable

Darrell Clarke’s side have been up and down since their return to the Football League but were 3-0 winners at Hartlepool on Tuesday night to move up to 14th in League 2, a point and two places behind The Shrimps.

Rovers became the first club in 10 years to return to League 2 at the first attempt when they beat Grimsby on penalties in the Conference play-off final in May.

As for The Shrimps they will be looking to tighten up after the disappointing 3-1 defeat to Luton last time out.

Bentley: “There were only out of the league for a year.

“They did well exceptionally well to drop down and bounce back at the first attempt.

“They’ve had a lot of change down there and have started a bit up and down.

“They certainly had a good result on Tuesday though and that will give them some confidence coming into this game and we know it will be a difficult game.

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“They are another team who will be hard to read as well. The played 3-5-2 all season and the on Tuesday night changed to 4-4-2 with five changes and won 3-0.

“But first and foremost we’ve got to concentrate on ourselves and make sure that we’re harder to score against.

“We want a reaction in front of our home fans and give them something to cheer about.”

Bentley’s main concern ahead of the game is his side’s defensive frailties having shipped seven goals in their last two home games against Northampton and Luton.

He said: “Maybe we’re suited to play better away from home where the pressure’s off and teams come onto us a little bit more.

“But I don’t think we can use that as an excuse.

“Last year we had teams that came here and played 4-5-1 and frustrated us but in the last couple of games Northampton have come after us and Luton have come after us.

“We’re capable of more and we know that we can play better.

“We’re not firing on all cylinders. We can create chances and score against anyone in the division but the worrying thing is it’s too easy to score against us.

“We can talk about formations and who should play where but it’s down to individuals winning tackles, winning one v ones and picking up their men at set plays.

“I can accept mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, but most of the goals have been avoidable and that’s down to individuals doing their jobs.”

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