Morecambe aiming to avoid a training pitch battle

The Shrimps moved training base from Lancaster University to Lancaster and Morecambe College last season during Stephen Robinson’s short spell in charge.

He cited the lack of a grass pitch, exclusively for Morecambe’s use, as one of the reasons behind the decision to switch locations – and even claimed the training facilities had seen the club lose out on signings.

It’s a view with which Adams can empathise, revealing that the Shrimps’ training facilities had played a part in his decision to join Bradford City following play-off final victory in May 2021.

“We spent £10,000 on the training pitch over the summer,” Adams said.

“It (the facilities) was one of the reasons why I left to move to another club, there wasn’t a training facility going to be in place.

“We had been using the University, which was good from an artificial pitch point of view, but that relationship wasn’t going to continue.

“We’ve gone to Lancaster and Morecambe College and spent that money over the summer but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“It’s not up to scratch yet but the CEO and the groundsman understand what they have to do to get it up to scratch.”

Stories of Morecambe’s training ground issues have been legion in recent years.

Speaking at the end of 2018, before linking up with the University, former boss Jim Bentley revealed bad weather had left him having to beg and borrow alternative locations – and that certain players had been unable to use artificial pitches.

While acknowledging that most clubs cannot summon up millions of pounds for a bespoke training ground at the click of a finger, Adams reiterated that players have to be taken care of.

He added: “It’s a problem in football clubs, they forget the main thing that enables the club to be successful is the players.

“Other areas don’t generate the same amount of income that a successful club does.

“If you don’t get the training pitch right, you aren’t allowing the main product to be successful.”