McIlroy said he was delighted to re-sign the versatile midfielder, who was out of contract at the end of this season, and reported to be interesting other clubs after some stand out performances this year.

The Shrimps' boss said: "I am delighted that Garry has signed up again. He is a Morecambe lad through and through and has had a really good season. He always gives 100% and is a great player to have around because he is such a versatile player who can play in a variety of positions.''

Hunter, who is getting close to making 150 starts for the Shrimps since making his debut in 2003, said he was happy to sign on again.

The 25-year-old who graduated to the first team from the club's junior sides, said: "I have been at Morecambe a long time and always enjoyed it. There was talk of other clubs being interested in me and I kept getting asked if I was leaving. But I am really pleased to get things sorted now and can look forward to the next couple of years.

"The squad has improved every season since joining the league and I am really looking forward to moving to the new ground. I've been happy with the way I've played this season and I think it has been my most consistent since joining the League. When we play as well as we all know we can we are more than a match for anyone in this league and if we can get some consistency I think we could challenge for a play-off spot.''

The consistency that Hunter mentions is also something that boss McIlroy called for after last Saturday's disappointing defeat at Cheltenham. The 2-0 defeat annoyed the Shrimps' boss who said: "I was flabbergasted by the performance at Cheltenham.

"It's not often that I can say the lads have let us down this year but they definitely did on Saturday and I apologised to the fans who made the journey down there. They threw the ball forward quickly and we just couldn't handle it. We had a great win over Burton in midweek but we were nowhere near that level at Cheltenham and that was really disappointing."