Bentley wants reaction
BOSS Jim Bentley says he has demanded a reaction from his players after last week's heavy defeat at Plymouth.
The 5-0 reverse at Home Park last Saturday angered the Morecambe boss and he has had the players working hard all week to make sure they produce a much better performance this weekend against a Southend side who have gone nine games without a win.
Bentley said: “Sometimes these things do provoke a positive response.
“We’ve been going on about the fine dividing line since Boxing Day but when something like this happens it opens up a little bit of a can of worms.
“I’ve asked a few questions of the team but we’re all in it together and now I’m hoping we can use that defeat and the manner of it as a positive between now and the end of the season.
“We had two days on Monday and Tuesday where we pointed the finger.
“We watched the DVD and went through things and the lads. They’ve set themselves high standards and at Plymouth didn’t meet them.
“We had been putting in decent performances but every team has it where on the day everything went wrong.
“We were punished for every mistake, I could just sense it at half-time and would have jumped back on the coach if I could have done.
“I’ve told the lads in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t acceptable and the training’s been positive with a double day on Monday and Tuesday.
“We’ve drawn a line under it and we can only affect the future and not the past.
“It’s gone and the spirit’s good and hopefully we can get some pride back after last week because it wasn’t acceptable for the fans who made the long trip either so we’ve got a bit of paying back to do.”