Morecambe boss happy with another point going into the Easter fixtures

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley. Picture: Clean Sheet Media

The Shrimps dropped to 19th in League Two, seven points clear of the relegation places, as they head to Swindon Town on Good Friday before hosting Cambridge United on Monday.

Their survival bid yielded a point at the weekend after a goalless draw which was high on effort but low on quality from both teams.

Three defeats in 13 games during 2018 have lifted Bentley’s players clear of danger going into the final five weeks of the season.

“Yes, we wanted more than a point but at least we stay unbeaten,” said Bentley.

“If you go back to the game we lost at Accrington Stanley the other week when we were three unbeaten, we said we needed to bounce back.

“We ended up with the point at Crawley Town and that might turn out to be a big point.

“We have shown during the course of the season that we have some excellent battling qualities.”

That spirit has been shown in the club’s defensive resilience, particularly in their games of late.

Back-to-back clean sheets provide something upon which to build, even if Morecambe have misfired in their last couple of outings.

Only eight teams in League Two have conceded fewer than the Shrimps’ 47 goals to date.

At the other end, however, only third-bottom Grimsby Town (32) and bottom club Barnet (34) have been less prolific in front of goal than Morecambe, who have netted 37 times in their 38 matches.

“Another clean sheet is great but, previously this season, we have defended quite well,” Bentley said.

“We changed formation and tried to get our wing-backs forward a bit but we just couldn’t make that work.

“There is plenty to be positive about at the minute; we’re doing OK and our form isn’t bad.

“OK, we aren’t scoring enough goals but we have created chances; maybe not against Lincoln but they didn’t either.

“Overall, I thought that was a fair draw and it kept us unbeaten.

“Now we go into the Easter games and, hopefully, we can get some points to put some more distance between ourselves and the bottom two.”