Morecambe boss backs squad to continue improving
Derek Adams believes his Morecambe players are improving all the time as they welcome Port Vale tomorrow.
It is top against bottom in League Two at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium, where the Shrimps look to make it consecutive league wins after beating Harrogate Town last weekend.
They face a Vale team out to respond after defeat at Gillingham ended a run of 26 points from 30, which had lifted them to the summit.
Vale boss Darren Moore has assembled a squad containing a number of players to have featured at a higher level.
Among his options is Connor Ripley, who returns to Morecambe after making 50 appearances for the Shrimps during the 2022/23 season.
Adams said: “They came down from League One last season but they have got a vastly experienced squad.
“They have added to it over the summer, taking in players who have played in the Championship and have excellent pedigrees.
“We’ll be delighted to see Connor Ripley, who is a very good personality and did exceptionally well for us.”
Ripley’s successor, Stuart Moore, should be available after sitting out the midweek Bristol Street Motors Trophy defeat against Carlisle United following a knock at Harrogate.
With George Ray also coming through unscathed from Tuesday night, that leaves Lee Angol as Morecambe’s only confirmed absentee.
It is a match that will see supporters protest against the Shrimps’ owner, Jason Whittingham.
While Adams wouldn’t be drawn on that, he reiterated his view that Morecambe’s players haven’t picked up the points they should have for their efforts.
“We are probably five or six points off where we would want to be – and probably should be – at this stage of the season,” he said.
“We are progressing all the time, probably a wee bit slower than we’d have liked, but we are improving.
“If you look at the games we’ve played this season, we’ve played a lot of the top 10 teams in our first 15 games already.
“It’s a really competitive division and it’s been hard, having had to put together a team in a short space of time.
“They are growing with every week and while we might have occasionally lacked that bit of quality in the final third to finish teams off or defend better, we understand what we need to do.”