Morecambe manager's reminder to his players going into Wrexham clash

It’s eighth against third in League Two with the Shrimps only out of the play-off places on goal difference.

For their part, the visitors are just three points behind the leaders, Mansfield Town, after last weekend’s four-goal defeat of Accrington Stanley.

A large crowd is expected for the game which comes in the aftermath of the Morecambe fans’ march on Saturday lunchtime, supporting the club and highlighting that it’s still for sale after 18 months.

With that in mind, Morecambe’s head coach doesn’t want his players to become distracted from the job in hand.

“The lads have to play the game, not the occasion,” Brannan said.

“I think they’ll do that because we’ve gone from being a young team to having some experience in there.

“People like Yann (Songo’o), Slewy (Jordan Slew), Gwion (Edwards), Stokesy (Chris Stokes) and Faz (Farrend Rawson) will have a calming influence in the dressing room.

“At the end of the day, we’re playing for three points and – if we go out and play like we can – we can get those three points.”

Tomorrow’s game sees Morecambe looking to make it three wins in a row after beating Crewe Alexandra and Crawley Town.

There’s also the small matter of atoning for last November’s 6-0 loss in the clubs’ previous meeting, when Brannan and John McMahon were in caretaker charge after Derek Adams’ departure.

However, only four of the Shrimps’ starting XI from that day – Farrend Rawson, Jacob Bedeau, Joel Senior and Jordan Slew – began against Crawley in midweek.

“They are playing against a different Morecambe team,” Brannan warned.

“New loan players have come in, along with a couple of permanent signings, we’re playing differently and the mentality is different to last time.

“We all know Wrexham are a tough team but we have to go into the game without carrying any of our players.

“I’m sure we won’t and that, instead, they’ll be at it and raring to go against a team who have a lot of talented players.”