“We’re going to be a scalp for everybody”: Morecambe manager’s warning about National League North
New Morecambe manager Adam Lakeland has warned the club’s supporters that they cannot take promotion next season for granted.
Relegation from the National League into National League North sees the Shrimps playing regionalised football for the first time in three decades.
It is automatically assumed relegated clubs will be firmly in the running for an immediate promotion, but Lakeland’s experiences of the division have left him under no illusion as to the task ahead.
He said: “There’s no guarantees, just because we’re a big football club at National League North level.
“We’re going to be a scalp for everybody and every game is going to be so difficult.
“I’ve managed over 230 games in that league. It’s a really difficult division to get out of, so if anybody thinks we’re just going to rock into that division and just walk out of it, then they don’t understand what we’re going into.
“I have every confidence in my own ability, the ability of Sam (Walker), my assistant, and I think if we can put together a team that’s hungry, hard-working, fit, has a true identity and has that burning desire to win and work hard, then I’m confident we can be right at the sharp end of that league and hopefully that’ll be enough for us to get out of it.”
Lakeland’s appointment as Morecambe boss was swiftly followed by that of Walker, following on from their time together at Curzon Ashton, King’s Lynn Town and FC Halifax Town.
“We work very well together,” Lakeland added.
“Trust is difficult to find in this game and he’s somebody that I trust implicitly.
“I always think that the most important trait of a good assistant manager is that they’re not afraid to disagree with you.
“If they see something slightly different to what you’re seeing, the good ones aren’t afraid to tell you that.
“I think, as a manager, you don’t want someone that’s going to nod at you all the time.
“There’s a big problem if you’re constantly disagreeing but we don’t, I think we have very similar values.
“We work hard, we’re driven, we’re ambitious, we both see the game quite similarly but then there might be occasions where you have different ideas and we can bounce those off one another.”