Midfielder broke the deadlock in Morecambe’s FA Cup victory last weekend.

Adam Lakeland believes Paul Lewis’ willingness to join get forward is paying off after the Morecambe midfielder’s latest goalscoring contribution.

Lewis opened the scoring as the Shrimps defeated Southport 2-0 in their FA Cup second qualifying round tie at the Halo Aerospace Stadium last Saturday.

It was the 31-year-old’s second goal in nine matches so far this season, following on from his August Bank Holiday Monday winner at Chester.

Having only scored once in his first two years with the club, Lewis had come into the campaign on the back of pre-season goals against Clitheroe and AFC Fylde.

His success in front of goal hasn’t been a surprise to the Morecambe management team, who will look to make it six wins from seven in all competitions when they travel to Oxford City in National League North this weekend.

Speaking after the Shrimps’ latest victory, Lakeland said: “He’s an athletic guy, he’s got a will to run and get in the box.

“Because he’s a good size and he’s a good finisher and a good header of the ball, he ends up in quite a lot of mismatches when he does make the box.

“It’s no surprise to us that when he gets himself in there, he’s chipping in with goals because we know that he’s done that earlier on in his career and we’ve seen him do it since we’ve come here in pre-season.

“A lot of midfield players stay beneath the box because they want to score the ones in the top corner from 25 yards.

“You might get one or two of those a season but if you get yourself in the box, you’ve got a chance of getting multiple goals.

“I think Paul’s on four or five from pre-season combined, which is not a bad return.

“It’s not only that, but I think his performance levels are getting better as well and he’s becoming an important player for us at this moment in time.”