Ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Rotherham United, Ousmane Fané believes facing teams from higher divisions can be a source of motivation.
Morecambe will travel to the AESSEAL New York Stadium in Round Two of the Carabao Cup after triumphing over another Championship side in Stoke City on penalties.=
The 28-year-old admits when faced against teams from further up the footballing pyramid, it can spur you on even more as a player.
“When you play a Championship side, you have more motivation,” he said.
“You want to show you can compete with them, and I think tomorrow is going to be a good game, we’ll try to push to win this game to try and get into the next round.
“I just think when you play football, when you play any game, just try to win, it doesn’t matter if you play League Two or Conference.
“But when you compete against Championship teams, you want to show you can compete at this level, so sometimes it gives you a little extra [motivation].”
After arriving at the Club in January 2022, the Paris-born man is well into his first full season with the Shrimps.
Following a tough pre-season campaign as well as the arrival of new faces into the squad, Fané says the positive signs are there.
He added: “There are encouraging signs, as the games go, we will gel together.
“The team spirit is very important, especially to this team, we need to get together and stick together, this can take us really far.
“When the gaffer gives me time to play, I’m trying to give my best, I know what I have to do, I know why I’m here, I still have to improve and obviously we’ll try to keep pushing.
“They [the fans] have been fantastic since the season started.
“They have a really important role to play, when you’re on the pitch and you feel them pushing and pushing behind us, sometimes it gives you this little extra, even when you’re tired, to keep going.”