Morecambe boss has familiar faces back in training

The Shrimps host Doncaster Rovers tomorrow, looking for a third straight victory after back-to-back wins over the Easter weekend.

Despite the club’s well-documented off-field issues, they sit eighth in League Two with a two-point gap to the top seven and five games to go.

That has been despite lengthy absences for a group of senior players at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium.

Keeper Stuart Moore hasn’t featured since coming off at half-time against Sutton United last October.

Donald Love’s last appearance was November’s FA Cup win at Lincoln City, while JJ McKiernan returned as an unused sub over the Easter period after being out since the New Year’s Day draw with Harrogate Town.

Farrend Rawson and Jacob Davenport have both missed the last month but, according to Brannan, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Speaking after training on Thursday, the Morecambe boss said: “Faz (Rawson) has trained today, Stuart has been training for a week and he’s raring to go.

“Donald is training today with Jacob but it’s going to be hard for any of the lads coming back to get in at the moment.

“What it does mean though is that there’s going to be good competition for places and, hopefully, it’ll be driving people on to perform.

“JJ was the bit of team news I was keeping quiet for Accrington (Good Friday’s win) but it wasn’t the right time for him to come on.

“He’s had another week’s work but he still won’t be 100 per cent; that’d take five or six games.

“At this time, we don’t have five or six games to get him fit so it’s about when is the best time to use him and get the best out of him.”