Morecambe boss Jim Bentley tells players to shoot on sight at Oldham Athletic

Tuesday night’s loss against Walsall at the Globe Arena was a game in which the Shrimps failed to test the visiting keeper.

Their attacks generally fell down when they got to the final third, either through a poor final ball or players trying to pass the ball to a team-mate instead of having an attempt at goal themselves.

Defeat sees Morecambe without a victory in their last seven league and cup games.

That run leaves the Shrimps 22nd in the League Two table as they travel to an Oldham Athletic side tomorrow sitting one place and one point above them.

When his side’s inability to find the target in midweek was pointed out to him, Bentley said: “That’s poor.

“You can do all the crossing, finishing and shooting sessions but we’d created numerous opportunities in all the other games this season.

“In those games, we looked like we had a cutting edge and we’ve got one of the top scorers in Lewis Alessandra.

“There were times it was breaking around the edge of the box but is that a lack of confidence? Do they feel they can get it to someone in a better position?

“When you’re on a run like we’re on, it’s like you’re thinking, ‘I don’t want criticism if I miss the target’.

“The disappointing thing from my point of view is we got into good areas.

“The keeper dropped the ball and it looked like we were queuing up and then the keeper dived on it again.

“Some of our football this season has been excellent but a lack of confidence happens when you’re on a losing streak and they have come up short in certain areas.”