Derek Adams hopes for glamour tie to boost Morecambe’s transfer funds

Morecambe manager Derek Adams admitted drawing a big club in the third round of the Carabao Cup would give him the green light to strengthen his squad ahead of the transfer window closing.

Arthur Gnahoua’s second-half strike earned the Shrimps a 1-0 win at Championship side Rotherham, who only mustered one attempt on target.

A place in the third round brings the opportunity of drawing one of the Premier League clubs involved in European competition.

And Adams said: “If we can land a big team that would be advantageous to me going into the transfer window.

“At the moment, I am limited in terms of what I can do and it would allow us to strengthen the squad.”

Adams expects striker Cole Stockton to still be with the club beyond the end of August.

The 28-year-old, who netted 26 times last term and has been linked with a move away from the club, was missing at the New York Stadium because of a groin injury having also been absent for recent matches through illness.

But the Morecambe boss said: “One club has upped their bid, but it’s still derisory and nothing will happen unless a club comes in with a real amount of money.

“He was the second top scorer in the league last season and no other club would accept that offer and we would be mad to do it.”

Home boss Paul Warne admitted his side were not good enough in the Morecambe penalty box.

“We controlled the majority of the match but not the most important part, the goal area,” he said.

“We dominated the first half, but it was different from a Championship game.

“They came and sat in and made it hard to break them down. There wasn’t enough finesse in the final third and, the longer the game goes on, people start to panic instead of doing what they are good at.”