Tranmere Rovers travel to Walsall this weekend looking to secure mathematical safety which should preserve their League One status for a twelfth season.
Rovers, who have seen an upturn in fortunes since Ronnie Moore took charge, sailed past the 50-point mark for the season with a comfortable 3-0 win at home to play-off chasing Stevenage on Good Friday but then suffered a reverse of the same scoreline away to Milton Keynes Dons on Easter Monday. Following that match, Moore set the players a target of three wins from the last four games of the season (Hartlepool and Scunthorpe at home; Walsall and Colchester away) to reach 60 points.
He will be looking for a positive reaction from his players after such a disappointing performance at Stadium MK and had called for the squad not to rest on their laurels with sixteen players out of contract in the summer. He said: “It's not as if they've all got contracts and nothing to play for. We've got 12 players whose contracts are up and options on four other players in our favour, so there's 16 players all looking for work. I've been out of work and it's not a nice place to be. They're still playing for their jobs and careers here.”
The 59 year-old will have pleased the Rovers fans with the news that he is close to signing a new deal with the club. His current contract runs until the end of the season but Moore’s performance since his return have persuaded the Chairman Peter Johnson to look more long-term. Moore claims that he and the chairman have “more or less agreed everything” and that a deal should be sorted out “in a week’s time”.
His side travel to the Midlands on relatively good form with just two defeats from nine games; a stark contrast to the one win in twenty games which was overseen by his predecessor, Les Parry.
Indeed, it was Parry who led Rovers to a 2-1 win over the Saddlers at Prenton Park back in October. A superb long-range strike from Robbie Weir and a deft flick from Mustafa Tiryaki made Andy Butler’s header irrelevant to give the Whites all three points. A similar result on Saturday could see Tranmere move up to as high as 10th place in the table. Given the congested nature of the mid-regions of League One, though, the Wirral side could easily slip a few places if results do not go their way.
Tranmere could have David Raven, Mark McChrystal, Martin Devaney and Adam McGurk in contention for a place in the squad after all four came through the 2-1 reserve win over Burnley in midweek unscathed upon their return from injury. However, midfielder Joss Labadie could miss out after he limped off with a foot problem which he had scanned on Thursday morning. Enoch Showunmi and Andy Robinson could also come back into the fold after being rested at MK Dons.
The Bescot has been a happy hunting ground for Rovers in recent years, having won three of their last four games there. A late Bas Savage winner in 2009 kept alive Tranmere’s play-off hopes though they would eventually miss out on the final spot to Scunthorpe United, who duly won the play-offs. Last season saw the Whites win twice at the home of the Saddlers; a 1-0 win in the first round of the Carling Cup was followed up by a comfortable 4-1 success in the league fixture.
However, Dean Smith’s side will provide testing opposition and are unbeaten in their last six at home including a 3-2 win over promotion candidates Sheffield United. The visitors, on the other hand, have lost fourteen of their twenty-one away games in League One this season.
The Saddlers are still embroiled in the relegation fight and need the points to ensure their own safety but Ronnie Moore is not the type of manager who would allow his squad to be unprofessional. Tranmere will travel with the intention of winning the game but they will have to come away satisfied with a 2-2 draw.
By: Sam Robinson