Tranmere Rovers have a simply massive few days ahead of them as they battle to try and stay in League One for the 2020-21 season.
Three home matches in the space of seven days await and, should Rovers collects a decent sum of points from those fixtures, it could go some way to staying in the division at the end of the campaign.
Failure to do so, and our fate could well be sealed, long before the season ends in early May.
Tranmere play host to Doncaster Rovers (4 February), Portsmouth (8 February) and Bristol Rovers (11 February) at Prenton Park and must be looking at picking up 4-6 points as a minimum to help the survival cause.
Easier said than done. Rovers have won just five league matches all season and need to turn their recent league form upside down to achieve that against difficult opposition.
From somewhere, they need to find something to make the task of fighting relegation attainable, something which was clearly missing at Bolton last Saturday.
The six-point gap between ourselves and next best placed side AFC Wimbledon, you’d think, needs to be reduced by the time the final whistle blows against Bristol Rovers for Tranmere to stand much chance of pulling themselves out of this situation.
Micky Mellon’s side have home advantage for the next three matches, and despite the pitch being a mess, they need to make the most of playing at Prenton Park.
The travelling Super White Army were audibly unhappy at Saturday’s loss at the University of Bolton Stadium. But boos can soon be turned into cheers again.
We want to see our team play with passion, spirit, determination and desire, and to work hard for us. Do that, and the crowds at Prenton Park over the next three games will get right behind them.
All of the aforementioned qualities we have seen in abundance in recent years as the club has risen back up the divisions, and we need that more than ever now if we are to survive in League One.
Even in the very recent past, our performances over the two matches against Watford were admirable. Those qualities shone through, as well as some quality play to ultimately knock out a Premier League side.
That has to be the benchmark and applied consistently in every game between now and the end of the season.
The return of Andy Cook will give the fans a lift. He is a hugely popular figure amongst the Super White Army for his exploits the first time around, helping Rovers back into the Football League with his abundance of goals.
With 18 goals last season for Walsall, he has shown that he can do it at this level too. But he’ll need good service, same as Morgan Ferrier and James Vaughan, if he is to produce the goods.
So, it’s a hugely important week or so for Tranmere. Pick up some much needed points and the picture looks a lot more positive. Fail to do so and, well, I don’t even want to think about that.
SWA!
