Bentley out to sink the Mariners

Jim Bentley and his assistant, Ken McKenna, have plenty to ponder

They welcome mid-table Grimsby Town to the Globe Arena tomorrow, still smarting from Tuesday’s 3-0 home loss against third-bottom Port Vale.

Having beaten bottom side Chesterfield the weekend before, three points in midweek would have put some daylight between the Shrimps and the relegation places.

Defeat was bad enough but it was also made worse by Tuesday night’s victories for Chesterfield and second-bottom Forest Green Rovers – Morecambe’s destination a week tomorrow.

“They are all big games,” Bentley said.

“Chesterfield was, Grimsby will be a big game, Forest Green will be a big game and the FA Cup against Hartlepool United will be.

“We know we are capable but we are playing against some decent enough sides.”

Morecambe’s midweek loss saw problems for Bentley to address at both ends of the pitch. Going forward, the Shrimps had a minimal number of opportunities to test  the Vale  backline but the bigger problem came at the other end.

All three of Vale’s goals looked avoidable with Morecambe’s defenders taking it  turns to shoot themselves in the foot.

“The first goal was a sloppy pass and we were then poor in reacting to the danger,”  Bentley said.

“It could have been 2-0 before it was. But, once it got to 2-0, we had two glorious chances to get back to 2-1.

“The third goal was comical – we haven’t chased into the corner or stopped the cross and it’s too easy to get across the full-back and pop it in the bottom corner.”