By Pete Oliver BBC Sport

Morecambe boss Jimmy Harvey believes his side is becoming fully equipped to stay the pace in the Nationwide Conference promotion race.

The Shrimpers are just one place outside the play-off zone with a game in hand on two of their top-five rivals.

Harvey believes the way his side took a point from second-placed Chester City with a last-gasp goal on Saturday is a good omen for things to come.

For all the teams up there it's a really tough period now Morecambe boss Jim Harvey

The Shrimpers' boss said: "There was a determination not to lose that game.

"For a young bunch of boys I feel that signalled that they have moved up a level in terms of determination and resilience.

"They have shown that we can play football and beat teams at this level but sometimes they didn't have that quality.

"I feel that's coming into the team now, which is very encouraging.

"For all the teams up there it's a really tough period now and we've got to put our foot on the pedal to get as many wins as we can to achieve a play-off place."

Robbie is going to need a half-a-dozen games to get settled back in JimHarvey

Morecambe have also been boosted by the return from injury of last season's top-scorer Robbie Talbot.

Talbot missed over 12 months with a foot injury but made his first Conference start of the campaign on Saturday.

Harvey hopes he will be firing on all cylinders for the make-or-break stage of the season.

He said: "Robbie is going to need a half-a-dozen games to get settled back in.

"If we were to get to the play-offs we would want him in the team, so we want to get him in now and get acclimatised again."