Morecambe aim for three wins in a row at the Mazuma

Morecambe could climb out of the League One relegation zone if they avoid defeat against Cheltenham Town this weekend.

Home victories over Accrington Stanley, followed by a 5-0 demolition of Burton Albion on New Year’s Day, have moved the Shrimps off the bottom of the table and to within a point of safety, ahead of the visit of the Robins to the Mazuma on Saturday (January 7, 3pm kick off).

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Morecambe are six games unbeaten at home in League One heading into the weekend, and with just one away victory all season so far for the Shrimps, turning the Mazuma into a fortress looks like being a key factor in the club’s battle to stay in the division for a third season.

‘’We’ve had a lot of games this season where we haven’t had the points we deserved’’, said manager, Derek Adams.

‘’You only got back to the Portsmouth game for example, and the opportunities we didn’t take. We should be in a much better position. But the players have showed that they can compete at this level.

‘’It’s really tight now, all the way up to Charlton on 28 points (in 17^th place). We always said that would be the case, and there’s a long way to go in the season. The players are looking forward to Saturday’s game.

‘’We’ve given the fans plenty of hope over the Christmas period. To score seven goals, and keep two clean sheets, they can be really positive going into the new year.’’

Cole Stockton was withdrawn at half time after picking up an injury in the Burton victory. The striker was ‘being assessed’ this week ahead of the game, while yesterday the Shrimps completed the loan signing of Dynal Simeu from Southampton.

Related: Shrimps make Saints defender first signing of transfer window

Southampton loanee, Caleb Watts scored twice on New Year’s Day after coming off the bench to replace Stockton, his first goals for the club, and says the squad are in a good place at the moment.

"We knew how important these home matches in-between Christmas and New Year were going to be, and we're really pleased we've come away with maximum points from the past two games, but we need to now quickly focus ourselves on Cheltenham this coming weekend to back it up even further,’’ he said.

"I've been crying out for that first league goal for the Club, and now I've got two in one match, I'm hoping I can push on and have a good year. It was a great feeling to do it in front of the home crowd too, who were fantastic on the day.’’