Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Morecambe.
The Opposition
Morecambe are still fighting, having come ever so close to losing their club to the black hole of clubs who have gone bust, but have come out the other side after the takeover of the Panjab Warriors consortium, who became the first Sikhs to own a British professional football club.
The Shrimps’ 18-year stay in the EFL came to an end with a bottom-placed finish last term, with relegation to the National League being confirmed following a 3–1 home defeat to Salford City amid a host of off-the-pitch issues at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium, and led to a chaotic summer and a delayed start to the current campaign.
Long-serving manager Derek Adams had taken the reins on the Lancashire Coast across three different spells, guiding the club up to League One for the first time in their history in his first spell, before re-joining the club – now in League Two – twice either side of spells at Bradford City and Ross County, and couldn’t stop them from slipping into the fifth tier for the first time since 2007.
Morecambe’s new owners made the controversial decision to part ways with Adams in what proved to be their first act in charge, and was followed by the appointment of young, up-and-coming manager Ashvir Singh Johal, who became the first Sikh to lead a professional football club in England, having previously worked alongside the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Kolo Touré and Cesc Fàbregas.
He has since gone on to guide the club back to within touching distance of safety, and having missed their opening few games due to a suspended start to the campaign, he led them to victory in their long-awaited first game of the season with goals from Ben Tollitt and Daniel Ogwuru securing a dramatic last-minute win over Altrincham.
Singh Johal has also built his squad from the ground up, with just five players available at the time of his appointment, having lost the likes of joint-top scorer Lee Angol to Cheltenham Town, along with Adam Lewis, David Tutonda and Ross Millen, the former of which played more times than anyone else with a whopping 52 appearances. Ben Tollitt is currently the only players who has remained from last season, with Singh Johal bringing in no less than 26 players since arriving, including a host of English football experience combined with young players from the top two divisions, as well as players from across Europe and even Asia.
Mo Sangare (AC Bellinoza), Miguel Azeez (PAS Giannina), Jake Cain (Swindon Town), Elijah Dixon-Bonner (Queens Park Rangers) and Arjan Raikhy (Boston United) have added quality in midfield, while Archie Mair (Norwich City), Alie Sesay (Thanh Hoa), Ludwig Francillette (Eastleigh), Terrell Agyemang (Middlesbrough), Raheem Conte (Cardiff City) and Maldini Kacurri (Arsenal) have injected steel in their backline.
Furthermore, the arrivals of Admiral Muskwe (IFK Mariehamn), Jack Stretton (Burton Albion), Harry Panayiotou (Larne), Joe Nuttall (Oldham Athletic), Daniel Ogwuru (Norwich City), Ma’kel Cambell (Peterborough United), Emmerson Sutton (Queens Park Rangers), and Tom Tweedy (Burnley), along with free agents George Thomas, Ben Williams, Jack Nolan, Jamal Blackman, Rolando Aarons, Josh Eppiah and Lewis Payne have bolstered their attack with top-level experience, and the Shrimps will be looking to jump of the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone with a game-in-hand on their rivals, but will need to spark a run of form sooner rather than later, having won just three games so far, including high-scoring games against Wealdstone and Boston United.
The Manager
Ashvir Singh Johal
Ashvir Singh Johal became the first Sikh to lead a professional club in England when he was named as Derek Adams’ successor at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in the summer, a move which also saw him become the youngest manager in England’s top five divisions and the first incoming following the takeover of the Panjab Warriors consortium, who also made Morecambe the first British football club to be owned by Sikhs.
Born in Leicester, Singh Johal can boast plenty of acclaim despite his short career so far, originally starting out as a player and a coach of Leicester-based club GNG, before spending ten years at Leicester City.
He began in development centres and community projects before making the step up into the Foxes’ academy, coaching up to Under-18 level, while he also got the chance to work alongside Leicester’ Head Coach at the time, Brendan Rodgers.
The 30-year old later made the switch to Wigan Athletic in December 2022, joining former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Kolo Touré at the DW Stadium with Singh Johal as the Ivorian’s assistant, and his first game – away at Millwall – saw him become the first Sikh to coach a team in the Football League.
Despite this, Touré and his coaching staff were dismissed after two months with the Latics, with Singh Johal going on to serve as Cesc Fàbregas’ assistant at Italian club Como, taking charge of the Under-19’s alongside the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder.
A brief stint in charge of the B-Team at Notts County then preceded a significant step in his management career, taking on the role of Manager at Morecambe last summer, who at the time of his appointment had just five players in their ranks.
Owing to financial difficulties, the Shrimps endured a slow start to their first campaign in the National League in almost two decades, having been relegated last term, but Singh Johal guided them to victory over Altrincham in their long-awaited first game of the season, and will be looking to lead the club to safety, having continued to navigate their struggles off-the-pitch.
Photo Credit: Morecambe Football Club
One to Watch
Miguel Azeez
Arsenal academy product Miguel Azeez returned to England for the first time in two years, reuniting with Ashvir Singh Johal following their time at Wigan Athletic.
Having joined the Gunners at the age of five, Azeez rose through the ranks at the Emirates Stadium and was given his first professional contract in September 2019, prior to his first team debut a little over a year later when he replaced Joe Willock in a UEFA Europa League win away at Dundalk.
He subsequently gained experience on loan at Portsmouth, Spanish Segunda División side UD Ibiza and Wigan, first linking up with Singh Johal with the 30-year old then in assistant charge to Kolo Touré, before departing Arsenal on a permanent basis in 2024.
Azeez returned to Spain with a move to semi-pro Primera Federación side Atlético Baleares to bring an end to over a decade in the Arsenal Academy, and preceded a move to Greece when he opted to spend the 2024/25 campaign at PAS Giannina.
The England youth international enjoyed a relatively successful time across Europe, but found himself returning to his home country when he joined Morecambe towards the end of August 2025, and he has gone on to play a key role in the centre of the park in Lancashire, making 14 appearances so far this term.
Photo Credit: Morecambe Football Club
Recent Form
Hartlepool United 1-1 Morecambe
Eastleigh 2-1 Morecambe
Boston United 0-4 Morecambe
Morecambe 0-3 Southend United
Chester 2-0 Morecambe
Morecambe 1-1 Chester
Last Time Out
It was a point on the road as an early Adam Campbell goal was cancelled out by a penalty in the 50th minute, converted by Admiral Muskwe.
Ex-Morecambe man, Adam Campbell broke the deadlock after just three minutes to give the Pools the lead and led to a quick response from the Shrimps, with Emmerson Sutton knocking a ball into the path of Jake Cain, who’s effort from the edge of the area was blocked on it’s way through.
The Shrimps ended the half on top, searching for the equaliser with further chances through Cain and Sutton but the Pools defence held strong and went into the half ahead.
It was a lively start to the second half with both teams having chances, however it was the Shrimps who struck first within five minutes, after some fantastic build-up play, Admiral Muskwe was brought down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot, and Muskwe stepped up and made no mistake in slotting it home into the bottom corner.
The Shrimps went in search of a winner deep into the second half when substitute, Rolando Aarons drove into the box and his effort was deflected over the bar for a corner kick. Hartlepool then broke through Adam Campbell when he slid in the Pools attacker but Jamal Blackman made a vital block to keep the scores level.
Photo Credit: Morecambe Football Club
