Morecambe boss hopes home advantage pays off against Shrewsbury Town

The Shrimps welcome Shrewsbury Town to the Mazuma Stadium as they look to build upon 19th place last time out.

It’s the second year in a row the two teams have met in Morecambe’s first match of the season.

Last year, after their opening day draw at Ipswich Town, the Shrimps were 2-0 winners on the second weekend of the campaign.

It was Morecambe’s home form which largely kept them up last season with 29 of their 42 points coming at the Mazuma Stadium.

“It’s always important to have a good home record,” Adams said.

“We want to be better away from home but, at home, we’re always capable of upsetting teams because of the venue.

“It’s a tight ground, the atmosphere is always going to be good and I think we’ve nearly sold out on Saturday.

“In the past, I’ve been here with Plymouth and haven’t won but we’ve had good results against other clubs as well.

“It’s a really difficult venue to play at and that’s what we’ve got to try and capitalise on.

“We have to be difficult to beat as well as have that flair and goalscoring ability going forward.”

Tomorrow’s visitors finished one place above Morecambe last season, albeit with an eight-point buffer.

Despite having a smaller profile in comparison to some of the teams in the third tier, the Shrews are embarking upon an eighth consecutive League One season.

Six players have come in over the summer, most notably Republic of Ireland international Aiden O’Brien (Portsmouth), Jordan Shipley (Coventry City), Chey Dunkley (Sheffield Wednesday) and Tom Bayliss (Preston North End).

Consequently, Adams is under no illusion as to the visitors’ capabilities.

He added: “Shrewsbury are a very stubborn side but they have added a few players in the window.

“They play in a way where they try and play from the back and go forward, but they have got a lot of players in there who have played League One football and higher.

“They have made a very good signing in Tom Bayliss, who has come from Preston North End but had a very good spell at Coventry City.”