Morecambe laid down a marker with Doncaster Rovers victory

The Shrimps secured their best away win in the Football League with an excellent performance in South Yorkshire.

That earned Brannan his first league win in charge and moved Morecambe to within one point of the League Two play-off spots, with a game in hand of many of those around them.

The manager now sees his side face MK Dons, Bradford City, Notts County and Harrogate Town during the next two weeks in what is always a vital period of any season.

Brannan said: “Saturday was a good start to the Christmas period for us and we set a bit of a marker.

“With four games coming up really close to each other, we can hopefully build on the win because we all know this time of year is so important and, if we manage to get a couple of wins, we would be in a good place going into the new year.''

The new year also sees the opening of the transfer window but Brannan says one of his main aims is to keep hold of the loan players he currently has.

That includes Burnley striker Michael Mellon, who took his tally to 13 league goals for the season with a double last weekend.

The youngster has been a key part of the Morecambe team which has performed so impressively in the first half of the season.

However, as Brannan acknowledged, it also means that might see him recalled and sent out to a club in a higher division.

The Shrimps’ boss said: “The loan players we have are all top players, who are all flying, and if we can manage to keep them all it will be a real bonus for us.

“MIchael has done really well and the fact he has scored so many goals is great for us – but also a concern in some ways because, the more he scores, the less chance we have of keeping him in January.

“I really want him to do well because he has been great for us but it would hurt us if we did lose him.”