Rotherham United 0 Morecambe 1: Slide continues for the Millers as automatic promotion target fades

This defeat leaves them with just one win, the 6-0 thrashing of Lincoln, from their last eight games and they have dropped to 10th only a month after they were in the top three.

Caretaker manager Andy Liddell did not try to put any gloss on things. “It simply wasn’t good enough and the players know that,” said Liddell.

“I’m a little bit at a loss to explain it. We got beaten in the week by Shrewsbury but didn’t play badly but here there was a lack of confidence.”

He refused to use the conditions of a stiff wind and bobbly pitch as excuses and conceded it was a poor game of football.

But, pointing to the tightness of the situation at the top, he added: “The silly thing is we have still got a chance. Two points from the play-offs is where we are but now it’s seven up to third place which is a gap.”

The closest Rotherham managed to a goal was in the third minute when defender Johnny Mullins had a header cleared off the line.

But they never really gave goalkeeper Barry Roche a great deal to do and his only serious save was late in the first half when denying Nicky Law, who should have scored.

Adam Le Fondre shot wide with the best opening in the second half.

Former Huddersfield striker Phil Jevons was denied three times by good work from Andy Warrington in the first half.

It looked set to be goalless until eight minutes from time when Morecambe’s Jimmy Spencer finished after good work from Kevan Hurst.

Rotherham United: Warrington; Tonge; Mullins, Fenton, Newey; Law, Harrison (J Taylor, 85), Bradley (Daley, 57), Marshall; Le Fondre, R Taylor (Henderson, 72). Unused substitutes: Green, Ashworth, Brogan, Annerson.

Morecambe: Roche; Haining, McCready, Parrish, Cowperthwaite (Wainwright, 76); Holdsworth, Hunter, Drummond; Spencer, Jevons (Carlton, 70), Hurst. Unused substitutes: Bentley, Wraighte, Daley, Anyon.

Referee: S Rushton (Staffs).

Man of the match: Marcus Marshall.