Shaun Beeley: It's difficult but we've got to keep believing

Shaun Beeley admits it is tough for Morecambe to keep picking themselves up but is confident things will turn in The Shrimps' favour sooner rather than later.
Shaun Beeley battles for the ball against Oxford.Shaun Beeley battles for the ball against Oxford.
Shaun Beeley battles for the ball against Oxford.

The 4-2 defeat at home to Oxford on Saturday means Jim Bentley’s side have now picked up just one point from the last 18 available in a six-game winless run in League 2.

As a result The Shrimps are now firmly in midtable, 12 points shy of the play-off places and 13 clear of relegation.

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Stand-in captain Beeley insists however performances haven’t been that bad with Morecambe looking for a first win in seven at Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

The right back said: “It is difficult and I know the fans will be frustrated.

“But we’re frustrated ourselves. We’re playing well, it’s not like we’re getting battered every game.

“We’re coming out on the wrong side of games where we should be winning or getting a point.

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“When you’re down there you don’t always get the bit of luck you need.

“It’s frustrating but we’ve got to remain positive and there’s plenty of games to go to change things around and we’ll be looking to do that at Bristol.”

Saturday’s defeat to Oxford was another where The Shrimps saw a promising position slip from their grasp.

Bentley’s side were locked at 1-1 before Shaun Miller’s red card, Michael Appleton’s promotion-chasers then scoring three goals in nine minutes to seal victory.

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Beeley said: “It (Miller’s sending off) made it difficult and then obviously they’ve scored off a couple of set pieces quite easily.

“I thought we were in control and doing well but it’s always tough when you go down to 10 men especially against a team like Oxford who are good on the ball and break quite quickly.

“You can’t get too down. We got outplayed in the last 20 minutes when the lads are that little bit more tired from doing the extra work.”

Kickstarting their season at Bristol Rovers will be easier said than done for The Shrimps with Bentley managing a growing list of absentees.

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Miller will serve a three-game ban while Luke Conlan, hamstring, and Lee Molyneux, groin, also limped off against Oxford.

Aaron Wildig and Aaron McGowan were also no fit enough to feature due to their own hamstring problems.

Beeley said: “I’ve been struggling with a thigh which is restricting me a little bit.

“AJ’s (McGowan) had his hammy, Wildig’s got his hammy, Luke’s now possibly tweaked his hammy, there’s other little niggles in the team and then you’ve got the sending off.

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“It all adds up because the workload becomes a lot more for the lads who are playing.

“But you’ve just got to dig in together, not fall out in the changing room and stay together.

“The gaffer and everyone will always back us and we’ve got to back ourselves to change the form, get a bit of luck and pick up some results.”