Morecambe reunion excites Jim Bentley

The sides meet at Haig Avenue on Tuesday (7.30pm) as preparations continue for the 2024/25 campaign.

It will be Bentley’s first meeting with Morecambe following his departure as manager in October 2019.

That ended a 17-and-a-half-year association with the Shrimps, which started when he joined the club as a player from Telford United in 2002.

Five years later, he skippered them into the Football League before taking charge in the summer of 2011.

An eight-and-a-half-year stint as manager saw Bentley become the longest-serving boss in English football’s top four divisions.

However, a defeat to Stevenage – which left them bottom of League Two – was the final chapter in his Shrimps story.

A move to AFC Fylde followed where, despite being in charge for two-and-a-half years, Bentley never had a full season at the helm.

The 2019/20 campaign was curtailed because of Covid-19, meaning Fylde were relegated to the National League North on a points-per-game basis.

Covid-19 again played a part the following year with Fylde second in the NLN table when the season was voided, with promotion and relegation suspended.

Fylde were then in the play-off spots when they parted company with Bentley in March 2022, five months before a short spell at Rochdale.

Speaking to Southport’s website, Bentley said: “I never really got to say goodbye when I left Morecambe.

“I don’t have to explain how much I love Morecambe, it’s nearly 18 years of my life.

“We had some great times, it will be nice to see some familiar faces.”