Jamie Devitt: We're all playing for our futures

Jamie Devitt scores from the penalty spot to double Morecambe's lead on Saturday.

Jamie Devitt insists Morecambe's players have plenty to play for after ending their long wait for a win on Saturday.

The Irishman scored from the spot as The Shrimps won for the first time in 11 League 2 games with a 2-1 triumph over AFC Wimbledon at the Globe Arena.

The result leaves Jim Bentley’s side 13 points clear of the Football League trap door but Devitt says the players have plenty of reasons to impress in the closing weeks of the season.

The playmaker said: “The biggest thing is that a lot of the lads don’t know where they’re going to be next year.

“We’re all playing for our futures and you’ve seen today it was a battling display.

“I don’t think anyone there isn’t in for the cause.

“That’s taken a lot of pressure off now and we can go into the last 10 games and express ourselves and just see how high we can finish.

“With the players we have in there we should be pushing for the play-offs but we’ve had some bad luck and some injuries.

“We are where we are for a reason and we just want to finish as high as we can now.”

The three points were seen by many as easing any immediate worries of getting dragged into a relegation dogfight.

Devitt maintains however that it isn’t something that crossed the minds of the players.

He said: “We’d hadn’t won in a while but I don’t think as players we were worried about getting dragged into it.

“I don’t think that ever came into our minds. We just want to finish the season strongly now and who knows?

“It’s about finishing as high as we can, that’s the main thing.”

Devitt, who now has six goals this season, said the feeling at the final whistle could be summed up in one word as The Shrimps survived a late scare to hang on for a welcome win.

He said: “I think there’s only one word and it’s relief.

“The gaffer said before the game that we’re a top 10 or 12 team and I don’t think there’s a player in there who would disagree.

“We should be up the other end of the table and for one reason or another we’re not.

“I think it’s harsh the position we’re in at the moment and with a bit of luck we’d be right up the other end of the table.

“We have stuck together though and the spirit here is probably the best I’ve experienced in all the clubs I’ve been at.

“You can see it’s affected us a little bit because towards the end if we’d won a few games we’d have probably gone on and won three or 4-0.

“But because of the way results have gone there were plenty of nerves. We just needed the win, it didn’t matter how it came.”