Rovers boss Les Parry spoke to his club’s official website ahead of his side’s League One game against Carlisle at Brunton Park this evening, Parry hoping to turn around a run of eight defeats in a row on the road for Tranmere :
“We all know that our away form of late isn’t great, everybody obviously makes the right noises in saying they are looking forward to it, but you don’t really know what people are feeling deep down inside. But, we trained on Sunday and the lads were looking forward to it to try to put an end to the run whether it be a draw or a win just to get an away point on the table. If we go on what the players were saying then I am quite looking forward to it because again I think they are up for it.
“Carlisle could have gone into the top six had they played and won on Saturday, Greg (Abbott) is doing a great job there. They are flying at the moment, they are well organised and they are quite fortunate that they haven’t had a run of results, they didn’t start the season great, I think that is the only time they have had two defeats at the beginning of the season, but apart from that have been able to drag wins from nowhere and they have done a great job.
“They are really well organised, Greg messes around a bit with the way he plays, he changes the way he plays so you are never sure about how they are going to set up. Unfortunately for them they have lost the lad (Lee) Miller who has done really well for them and it looks like the left-back (Matt) Robson is struggling with his back as well so I don’t know if he will play or not and they are both decent players.
“So, that is a bit of a plus but they have got the lad (Francois) Zoko who is on fire at the moment, he is causing problems right across the frontline and the small lad (Jon-Paul) McGovern as well is a class act, he is a good player. So, their frontline are going to cause us some problems. But, we have said before that the difference between winning and losing or drawing is minute, so although Carlisle are pushing for promotion, the difference between them and the teams at the bottom is a bit of consistency, a bit of luck and probably slightly better players, but it isn’t great.
“By Greg’s own admission, he thought against Chesterfield that he was made up to get the win because Chesterfield had a few good chances to extend their lead when they were 1-0 up. That is what happens when you are up there and from Chesterfield’s point of view that is what happens when you are down there, you don’t take those chances and it turns round and bites you. That is what has been happening to us to a certain extent so hopefully Carlisle will lose a game by the odd goal and we will win a game by the odd goal.
“It goes to show doesn’t it that a team with a minus one goal difference can be just on the edge of the play-offs, how significant these one goal wins are. Because, they can really catapult you up the league, and we have said it before that obviously the top five have pulled away but there is a great bunch of teams, Carlisle are one of those clubs, just below that and any of those putting a run together can get in there.”
In team news for Rovers this evening, they will be missing four players through injury, with the first of those being former Carlisle right-back David Raven who will be sidelined for another six or weeks or so having undergone a double hernia operation at the end of January, while on the other side of the visitors back-line Zoumana Bakayogo is also absent. The left-back, who has struggled with a knee problem throughout the season, now on the treatment table for a few weeks having recently undergone an operation to remove a cyst from his shin.
The other pair of Tranmere players missing this evening being two well- known frontmen in Andy Robinson and Enoch Showunmi, with both of them set to play a part in a Rovers reserve team game against Preston at Chorley’s Victoria Park tomorrow afternoon as they look to work their way back to full fitness. Winger Robinson having undergone an operation on some torn cartilage in his knee early last month, while target-man Showunmi has been out with soft tissue damage to his leg and ankle since the end of December.
The referee for this evening's match is RAF Sergeant Darren Drysdale who is based at Waddington in Lincolnshire, and he will be assisted down the lines by Nick Greenhalgh from Bury and Ryan Johnson from Manchester. Meanwhile the fourth official is Scott Duncan from Newcastle.