Shrewsbury's Tom Bloxham benefitting from stint with Morecambe

The winger has started all 15 of the Shrimps League Two games and scored his first goal last weekend in the FA Cup against Lincoln.

BBC Sport Lancashire’s Derek Quinn, who also writes for the Lancaster Guardian, has covered every Morecambe game this season and says Bloxham’s ‘real heart’ has made him a hit with the fans.

“I am going to say he is not doing too well as I do not want him to go back,” he joked when he spoke to the Shropshire Star.

“He has been ever-present in the league.

“He just works hard, he seems like a great lad. He does his job for the team defensively, and fans have really taken to him.

“In one of the first pre-season games against Blackpool, he flew into a tackle after about five minutes, it was a proper crunching tackle and I think the Morecambe fans have just loved him since that point.

“That shows to the fans that he cares. He did really well in pre-season, but he did not score until Saturday, but he got his first goal at the weekend.

“In fairness to him, he has not had that many chances. He has been assisting more than he has been scoring them.

“There may have been one chance against Mansfield that he missed early on in the season.”

The 19-year-old has been playing on the right for the Shrimps in Derek Adams’ 4-2-3-1 formation and he is a real ‘tricky’ winger says Quinn.

“He has started every game on the right-hand side and he has put in some great crosses.

“In Derek Adams’ teams, they like the midfielders arriving late into the box and it is the strikers and the midfielders who generally score the goals.

“The wingers in Adams’ teams are there to put the ball in good areas and that is something he has done really well.

“But he has real heart, and he is quite quiet off the field I am led to believe, whereas on it he is tigerish.

“He is getting loads of minutes, I would not say he is the fastest winger I have ever seen but he is good at beating people and getting crosses in.

“He is quite tricky, but I would say he has massive strength is his heart.

“I always say when I am commentating that there is more to being a good footballer than being a good footballer.”

Town’s struggles in front of goal have been well documented with them only scoring seven times in their 16 league games.

And with the injury to former Morecambe loanee Kieran Phillips, there has been speculation about whether Town will recall Bloxham in January.

And when asked if he has seen enough from the winger to make the step up to League One, Quinn said: “It is always hard to say, but I think he would get the ball in the box.

“I do not see why he would not do that, I just hope he does well wherever he goes.

“I hope he stays at Morecambe for the rest of the season as we have some really good young players on loan.”