Morecambe striker earns his manager's backing

The Shrimps return to action against Crawley Town tonight (6.30pm), looking to consolidate their place among the League Two pacesetters.

Some have argued that position has come despite a lack of goals from Stockton, who has netted six in 31 appearances this season and missed two chances against Salford City last midweek.

On the other side of the argument, there are those who believe the 26-year-old’s all-round contribution outweighs his return in front of goal – and Adams is one of them.

“He got himself into good areas and he got one or two opportunities on goal,” he said of Stockton’s Salford display.

“He might not have taken them but, on the Saturday at Barrow, he has created two goals for us.

“He plays a pivotal part in the system that we play and he’s been a key player for us.

“I’ve always said that, with the teams I’ve had, you need other players to score goals and we have the likes of Carlos Mendes Gomes, Aaron Wildig, Toumani Diagouraga and John O’Sullivan chipping in – and Adam Phillips on top of that.”

Morecambe’s lack of a reliance on a consistent scorer is summed up by the way they have distributed the goals so far this season.

Two-thirds of the way through the league campaign and they have seen goals scored by 14 different players – with a further three netting in cup competitions.

Adams acknowledged he prefers to see the goals shared around, rather than relying on one or two players and perhaps becoming a one-dimensional team as a consequence.