With every passing game where Tranmere fail to secure any points, the need to win the next one and the pressure to do so increases.
A run of three home matches in a row appeared to be an opportunity to try and pick up some points, but having lost the first two, it makes victory in Tuesday’s game against Bristol Rovers at Prenton Park imperative.
Despite sitting in the relative comfort of mid-table in League One, The Gas are on a poor run of form themselves, failing to achieve a win in any of their last 13 outings in all competitions.
So a game between two of the least in-form teams in the country then, it’s going to be a classic, surely?
The time has come when we simply NEED to win this game. Wanting it is not enough, there has to be that desperation to get the three points on Tuesday, however we have to do it. Bodies on the line, one for all and all for one.
Sure, there are plenty of games left to play, and the potential to pick up enough points to survive, but the longer a winless run goes on, the more the confidence is going to sap away and the harder it will be to turn things around.
A return to winning ways as soon as possible is vital. Without wanting to state the obvious, the sooner the better.
One win could help us turn things around. We’ve seen it before that teams can go on a great run of results to pull themselves away from danger, and we have to believe this is possible this time around for Tranmere.
Momentum is a big part of the game. At the moment, it’s negative momentum that we’re suffering with, but one victory can help bring belief back (among both players and supporters), add confidence and if we could string a little run of results together, you can get back on some positive momentum which can carry you a long way.
In order to achieve the positive results, we simply have to defend better. The concession of poor soft goals is killing us and seems to always give us a mountain to climb when the task is already hard enough as it is.
Peter Clarke is a big miss for us at the back. He adds leadership in there that, it appears, is sadly lacking without him. Either someone (or preferably some people) need to step up to that plate, or we need to get him back to full fitness as quickly as possible because I think his presence could make a big difference.
He’s a commanding figure back there, a talker, an organiser. Without him there, you could almost hear a pin drop. Hopefully, he’ll be back and fully ready on Tuesday night.
Three points on Tuesday night could draw us closer to the teams above us and make the task of survival appear a little more tangible.
However it needs to be done, let’s just get it done. An undeserved scrappy 1-0 win with a goal off someone’s backside is absolutely fine right now. SWA!
