Karl Robinson saw Salford City increase their chances of playing League Two football again next season with a 3-1 win over Morecambe but reckons his side are far from the finished article.
Connor McLennan and Callum Hendry fired the Ammies 2-0 ahead only for a Theo Vassell own goal to put the outcome in doubt.
Instead, centre-half Curtis Tilt netted a bullet header from Luke Garbutt’s corner after 79 minutes to leave Salford 11 points above the drop zone.
For Morecambe, a third successive defeat further derailed their play-off ambitions.
“We are still way off what I expect this football club to be,” said manager Robinson. “We have got to be a lot better in an awful lot of areas.
“It is something we will strive for between now and the end of the season.
“We will get better but we have to try and win a few more games.”
“I am pleased, though, with the four days,” he added of Salford’s four-point haul including a 2-2 draw against high flying Stockport.
“But it leaves you with a tinge of frustration when you think Morecambe would have gone into a play-off position had they won.
“We played Stockport and people tell me how far advanced to everyone else they are. But we didn’t show any fear in these two games.”
Robinson admitted he wondered if lightning might strike twice at 2-1.
“I did say to Brucey (coach Alex Bruce) at one stage ‘I wonder if we can see this one out’. But we showed a tremendous level of calmness.”
Morecambe have now conceded 11 goals in their last three games. And frustrated manager Ged Brannan pulled no punches with his assessment of the Shrimps’ latest performance.
“That is the worst I have felt since I took over the job,” he admitted. “We showed nothing.
“It is unacceptable and we can’t play like that. I am going to have a good think to see if we can change something.
“You can’t have seven, even eight players, on the pitch not having a good day.
“Everyone on the pitch could have done better. We have got to work a lot harder.
“I felt so sorry for the fans and they were still singing even when we were getting beat.”
Vassell’s own goal just past the hour suggested Morecambe might rescue a point as Stockport did four days earlier.
“Once we scored they were rocking a bit,” agreed Brannan. “We had a few little chances and we were on the front foot and I thought ‘here we go.’
“But we just stopped and went back into the mould of going long and playing right into their own hands.”
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
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