Jim says Shrimps have score to settle
SHRIMPS' boss Jim Bentley says his side have a score to settle with derby rivals Fleetwood when the sides meet at the Globe Arena on Boxing Day.
The Shrimps lost both games against the then newly promoted Cod Army last season, including a dismal 4-0 defeat at the Globe.
Bentley: “The home game last year was one of those where any mistake we made was punished with Jon Parkin punishing us with a hat-trick.''
Looking ahead to the game he said: “Fleetwood have assembled a fantastic squad with strength in depth.
“But it’s a derby match, it’s Boxing Day, we’ve got a little score to settle from last season so hopefully it will be a good game in front of a big crowd and hopefully we can take something from it.”
The players will go into the game having been given Christmas Day off, an experiment Bentley hopes will be pay off with a busy couple of weeks ahead for his squad with the Shrimps hosting Hartlepool at the Globe Arena on Sunday, December 29 after the visit of Fleetwood.
And a good run could see his side right in the thick of things at the top of League 2 come the turn of the year.
Bentley said: “In years gone by we’ve been in and I just think the travelling, the training, getting up early with the kids, your Christmas dinner and the family coming round becomes quite stressful.
“So we’ve decided to do a double day on Christmas Eve, get our preparation sorted and then give them Christmas Day off with their families to be a little bit more relaxed.
“We’ll ask them all to do their own thing. I don’t want them sitting round eating roast potatoes all day or drinking sherry!
“And then we’ll get in a little earlier on Boxing Day to go through a few things and hopefully it works well for us because it looks like Christmas Day will be the only one we’re having off.
“After Fleetwood, we’ll be in the 27th and 28th, there’s a game on the 29th (Hartlepool), in the 30th and 31st, game on the first, in the second and third and then a game on the fourth.
“I don’t think anyone will begrudge us having Christmas Day off with that kind of run.
“It’s a difficult run but if we can pick up some points you never know where we could be at the start of the January.”