Bentley tears of joy as Morecambe escape

Jim Bentley joined morecambe as a player in 2002, before becoming manager seven years ago. no wonder he was in tears at the final whistle — staying up meant everything to him. they did not have a shot on target all afternoon but they did enough to cling on to their league status. ‘We’ve got the lowest budget in the league, we don’t have a training facility, we have the lowest average attendance, everything was stacked against us and it’s been a real struggle,’ said Bentley. they held on here thanks mainly to an outstanding performance by goalkeeper Barry Roche. Roche has played more than 400 games for the club having previously turned out for nottingham Forest and Chesterfield. the 36-year-old made two crucial saves to deny Coventry captain michael Doyle and Jonson Clarke-Harris. ‘you get those days when you think it’s going to have to be something special to beat you,’ Roche said. ‘i felt like that here and it was for the manager as well.’ the draw also meant Coventry secured a place in the play-offs. manager mark Robins said: ‘it’s the first time this club have been in the top six of any division and it’s a shame that it’s this division but from the club’s history it’s important that we try and turn things around.’