Morecambe boss: Play-off position was our target this season

Monday’s League Two promotion play-off final with Newport County AFC is the 58th and final game of an arduous season, condensed as a result of the pandemic.

Although clubs were facing new challenges in dealing with the hectic schedule and wage cap, there was the same old prediction of the Shrimps being tipped for relegation.

Instead, however, they came within one point of automatic promotion in taking fourth place, tying their best finish in the EFL, and posting a club-record points tally of 78.

“It’s been a really great season for us,” Adams said.

“To get to where we are, on Bank Holiday Monday, everyone is looking forward to it.

“As a group, our aim at the start was the play-offs and we have been able to get there.

“We have gone through the semi-final (against Tranmere Rovers) and we now have one game to go and get into League One.”

A top-seven finish might have been considered ambitious given Morecambe had only achieved that once since joining League Two in 2007.

They had ended the curtailed 2019/20 season third-bottom of the table, nine points clear of Macclesfield Town, before Adams embarked on a squad overhaul during the summer.

However, the tone was set on day one of the league season when they returned with three points from the eventual champions, Cheltenham Town.

For good measure, Adams’ players were the fourth highest goalscorers in the division with only Cambridge United (73), Oldham Athletic (72) and Exeter City (71) surpassing their 69 goals.

The manager explained: “We felt we had a squad capable of doing that (challenging for the play-offs).

“I said to the players I had looked at the other teams and what they had done, and I felt we should give it a go.

“We have put ourselves in a situation where we are in a final and we want to win that final.

“The players are in a positive frame of mind and we have players who are capable of opening up teams, creating chances and scoring goals - and that’s what we have to do on Monday.”

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