Mark Yates: Cheltenham Town showed 'tough side' in Morecambe draw

MARK Yates was happy to see his Cheltenham Town team rediscover their "tough side" away from home as they returned home from Morecambe with a hard-fought point.

In one of only four League Two fixtures to survive the big freeze over the weekend, Cheltenham produced a battling display and created the better chances but had to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Globe Arena, moving them up to fourth in the table.

Yates said: "It's a good point for us and a good clean sheet away from home because Morecambe have an excellent home record.

"We had to come and battle, and we did. I'd have liked a bit more quality, but we were the better team and our gameplan worked.

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"They were not nice conditions and the pitch was pretty awful, but we showed our tough side and how organised we can be, so hopefully that will stand us in good stead."

Yates strongly felt that Cheltenham should have been awarded a penalty in the 42nd minute when Sam Deering was tripped by Andrew Fleming.

"I am disappointed we didn't get a penalty because Sam was smashed," he said. "Everyone in the ground knew it was a penalty, bar one person."

Yates paid tribute to the attitude of his players and also to the hardy souls who made the trip north to support their team in treacherous travelling conditions.

"It took a hell of a lot of effort to get up there because the conditions were horrendous," he said.

"A lot of people made a massive effort to get to meeting points and well done to them all, it's a well-deserved point, but it should have been three, but at least we have picked up a point from a game in hand on a few teams."

Midfielder Darren Carter missed the trip with an ankle injury, but Yates is hoping to secure his services until the end of the season. His current deal expires on Wednesday.

"Hopefully he'll be staying, we are talking and I have a bit of money to use and I have to use it the best I can," Yates said.

"We've made a decent offer to Darren, so hopefully it'll be sorted because I know he's enjoyed his time here and he's a big part of what we are trying to do."

Yates will also resume his search of loan signings this week, but he said he would be happy to wait until the end of the month if it means attracting the right players.

"I won't panic just because January is upon us and things often don't happen until the end of the window anyway," he said.

"We have so far not been able to secure our targets, but the lads here have done great and we are in a decent position."