Derek Adams believes Morecambe have given themselves every chance of staying in League One after they claimed a narrow 3-2 victory over Charlton.
Two goals for Cole Stockton and another from Jensen Weir puts the Lancashire side within touching distance of Oxford and MK Dons.
With his side unbeaten in three, manager Adams praised the spirit of his outfit and felt they had the character to avoid their first ever relegation.
He said: “I said before the game, ‘this is your last game of the season. We’ve got to win this game today’ and that’s what they did.
“If you do that, you give yourselves a great opportunity. What we’ve got is a group of players who work ever so hard.
“Cole could have got a hat-trick, he was involved in all the goals, he was a target man today and that’s what he usually is.
“We’ve given ourselves an opportunity and we’ve taken it with two games left in the season. It’s a really tough division.
“It was another great performance from us. We’ve had four really great games but today’s performance was excellent.”
The visitors took an eighth-minute lead when striker Stockton hit a stunning strike from distance past Ashley Maynard-Brewer.
Charlton punished Morecambe in first half injury time when Jes Rak-Sakyi turned his shot in from close range but the home side showed more energy after the restart and Stockton slid in for his second after 56 minutes from a Weir cross.
Both goalscorer and provider switched roles seven minutes later, when Maynard-Brewer denied a hat-trick for the 29-year old, but only palmed the ball into the path of Weir, who slotted home.
Charlton pulled one back with 11 minutes remaining when Scott Fraser turned and fired home in the area, but the visitors held on for the most vital of three points.
With home fans voicing their displeasure on the final whistle, manager Dean Holden was left frustrated at a poor display.
He said: “It wasn’t good enough. We never started the game – we gifted them a goal and we gave cheap possession away.
“That can happen at times early in the game, but it’s all about the reaction – and we didn’t react well enough.
“There was so much carelessness in our passing, first half. There were a lot of unforced errors.
“We went in at 1-1 but we should have been 2-0 down at half-time.
“We played much better in the second half, but we’ve gifted them two good goals again.
“It’s a really good question why we’re inconsistent and we’re working on it. We looked a little bit anxious in possession.”
