Morecambe and Bolton Wanderers clash in a potential season defining affair

Derek Adams has been tasked with keeping Morecambe in League One, but his team travel to a Bolton Wanderers side that still hope for promotion.

Many Shrimps fans hailed the return of the man they call the king as their best chance of survival, but they are yet to win a game since the arrival of the Scottsman.

Morecambe have slipped into the final relegation spot despite showing they are capable of competing at this level in some barnstorming performances.

Adams remains hopeful that he can keep the team, which he abandoned in the summer for Bradford City, in the third tier of English football,

It would be another remarkable achievement if Adams were to save Morecambe from relegation twice.

However, the former Ross County and Plymouth Argle manager stressed that the wins needed to come soon if the Shrimps were to stay up.

He said:

“I think at this point of the season, we obviously need three points, we have got to pick up a good number of wins between now and the end of the season to make us safe.

“There are two teams above us that we think we can catch, could we catch a third team above us in Lincoln City? It is a possibility.

“We can only do that by winning football matches, we have to look at ourselves but we are obviously helped by other results in the league, we are looking to win the game and hope that the teams above us lose to jump those places above them.”

There is great concern that the West Lancashire side may be without their talisman in Cole Stockton, who departed their two-nil loss early against Plymouth last time out after complaining of feeling unwell.

Stockton has found the back of the net 21 times this season, providing the majority of the Shrimps’ goal contribution during the campaign.

Morecambe’s relegation stresses will certainly be increased if they are without their star striker.

Bolton is a club that are building back after an awful time in the history of the club; falling from the heights of European football in the 2000s to dropping down to the bottom tier of English football last season.

The appointment of Ian Evatt has seen a revival in the clubs’ fortunes despite a slow start, and they are now in a place where they feel they can challenge for promotion to the Championship.

Evatt has found success in his prefered 5-3-2 formation, which he used when he started as a manager at Barrow and took the Bluebirds to the Football League for the first time.

The Coventry born manager managed to achieve automatic promotion at the first time of asking with the Trotters, and they have continued to perform at a good level after going up.

Speaking before their clash at home to Lancashire rivals, Evatt urged the locals to get behind the team and carry them through the remaining fixtures.

He said:

“We’ve got 10 games left and six of those are at home.

“We want to try and win all of our home games and if we can and we can nick things away from home it gives us a chance.

“We just want to create the best possible atmosphere we can here.

“If the supporters can do that and help us with the atmosphere, that it can help make it more difficult for the opposition.

“But one thing’s for sure; we have to all enjoy it.

“We have to enjoy the run-in, the way we are playing at the moment and the fact that we have given ourselves some stability and a platform to improve from.

“But people (also) have to remember that although this is a huge club, and this is Bolton Wanderers we are a newly-promoted team.

“It takes times to challenge at the top end of these divisions.”

The Wanderers are on track for their seventh win on the trot at home against Morecambe, who have the second-worst away record in the league, only picking up nine points from 17 games on the road.

It is a must-win game for both sides, with the Shrimps hoping to avenge Amadou Bakayoko’s late equaliser the last time the two teams met

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