Late defeat at Accrington Stanley last weekend means Town will be looking to bounce back when they entertain Morecambe at the Envirovent Stadium on Saturday.
And Simon Weaver will be expecting a response from his players to the display that saw them fall to an injury time defeat.
Our opponents
Morecambe are back in League Two this campaign, after suffering their first relegation as a Football League club at the end of the 2022/23 season.
It was a summer of change following them dropping down, with 13 players departing, including leading scorer Cole Stockton and Liam Gibson, now in Town colours, and 13 arriving to give the squad a youthful air.
And they have started well in League Two, taking seven points from four games including a 3-0 win against Bradford last weekend. On the road they have played just one fixture so far, going down to defeat at Mansfield.
Previous meetings
The two sides faced off in League Two in the 2020/21 season with the Shrimpers posting back to back 1-0 wins. At the Mazuma Stadium Aaron Wildig’s strike on the hour was good enough to earn the points whilst in the return fixture late in the season Carlos Mendes Gomes struck in the first minute to claim victory.
Town did get victory in the Papa Johns Trophy last season though when goals from Finn O’Boyle and a last minute winner from Miles Welch-Hayes secured a 2-1 win in the group stages.
The man in charge
Derek Adams is now in his second spell at Morecambe, after departing following promotion to take over at Bradford City. After less than a season at Valley Parade he returned to Morecambe and steered them away from the League One drop zone before they succumbed to relegation last season.
Adams was previously in charge at Ross County and Plymouth following a playing career primarily in Scotland including spells at Ross County, Motherwell, Aberdeen and Livingston.
Ones to watch
Teenage loanee Michael Mellon, who arrived from Burnley for the season, has netted twice this season as well as tallying an assist.
Another teenager, Tom Bloxham – on loan from Shrewsbury – has started well in midfield alongside veteran Yann Songo’o rejoined the club in the summer from Bradford City whilst 18 year-old Adam Mayor will be a threat from the left-hand side.
The defensive unit, featuring the well-travelled Donald Love and former Carlisle man Joel Senior, has also settled in well, being unchanged through the opening four game.
History
A non-league side for much of their history the club was founded in 1920, entering the Lancashire Combination where they played for almost 50 years before joining the newly-formed Northern Premier League, also going on to win the FA Trophy in 1974.
They progressed through to the Conference in the mid-nineties and after two playoff failures they were promoted to the Football League for the first ever time in 2007.
Despite often finishing in the lower reaches of the table, aside from a playoff place in 2009/10, they earned promotion via the playoffs at the end of the 2020/21 season before last season’s relegation.
Team news
Long-term absentee Stephen Dooley is unavailable for Simon Weaver but they will finally hope to have Rod McDonald available after his recent spell on the sidelines.
