Morecambe: Jim Bentley thrilled to reach points target

Manager Jim Bentley has said it is a "massive achievement" for Morecambe to surpass last season's points tally.

A 1-0 win at Southend on the final day of the campaign took the Shrimps to 58 points - two more than in 2011-12.

Bentley told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It would have been nice to get a point because that would have taken us to exactly what we had last year.

"But to beat last season's total is a massive achievement considering the cutbacks we made last summer."

Morecambe ended a place lower in the division, but the 36-year-old continued: "I'm made up and I can't give the lads and the staff enough credit because they've put the work in every day.

"We were 15th last year and 16th this year, but it's a tighter league this season. You've only got to look at the number of points that teams have gone down on and that proves it's been a tighter league."

Meanwhile, Morecambe have confirmed that defender Will Haining will leave the club in the summer.

Centre-back Haining played 41 times in all competitions for the Shrimps in 2012-13.

"It's a similar story to Nick Fenton really. We wanted to keep Will and he wanted to stay but we could only offer reduced terms and couldn't agree a deal to keep him here at this moment in time," said Bentley.

Youngsters Dan Parkinson and James Short have also been released.