Morecambe boss hopes experience pays off

Defeat at Shrewsbury Town on Saturday kept the Shrimps in the League One relegation zone, two points behind Accrington Stanley who also have two games in hand.

With a home game against Charlton Athletic tonight and Oxford United visiting the Mazuma Stadium on Saturday, Adams wants the more experienced players to stand up.

The Morecambe boss said: “It’s really important that our senior players make an impact as I think we’ve got one of the youngest squads in the division.

“That’s when the experienced players like Farrend Rawson and Connor Ripley come into play because they understand the pressures that there are.

“We’ve got a club captain in Donald Love who’s vastly experienced. He’s played with the likes of Manchester United and Sunderland, which can help from that point of view as well.”

Charlton are 16th, 11 points ahead of Morecambe, but Oxford are only three clear of the Shrimps in 19th.

Adams believes their struggles this season show just how difficult life in League One is.

Oxford started the season as one of the bookies’ favourites to do well this season, but have endured a nightmare run of form – including eight defeats in the last nine – which saw the departure of manager Karl Robinson in the process.

Liam Manning, sacked earlier in the season by MK Dons – another fancied club which has struggled this year – was named as his replacement last weekend and watched their defeat against Derby County.

The fact that Oxford and MK Dons, both of whom did so well last season, are at the wrong end of the table this time around is not lost on Adams.

He said: “We all know how difficult this league is and the position Oxford are in shows that.

“They are a club that, at the start of the season, were one of the favourites for promotion and, like a few big teams in this league, find themselves in a position they don’t want to find themselves in.

“We know the resources they have but the fact they are where they are shows how tough this division is and how hard we are working as a club to compete.”