Morecambe boss believes Tranmere will pull clear of relegation trouble

Jim Bentley believes Tranmere won’t be battling relegation come the end of the season.
The Morecambe bench looks on at Tranmere earlier in the season.The Morecambe bench looks on at Tranmere earlier in the season.
The Morecambe bench looks on at Tranmere earlier in the season.

Micky Adams’ Rovers visit Morecambe on Saturday sitting second from bottom in League 2 but have enjoyed a recent upturn in fortunes.

Adams took over from Rob Edwards in October and looks set to guide the Wirral side clear of the Football League trap door.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bentley: “They came down last season and a new, inexperienced manager took over.

“He brought players in and it didn’t work.

“There’s an expectation there. I live five minutes from the ground and know a lot of Tranmere fans and there’s a feeling they should be doing a lot better than they are.

“If everyone’s honest they’re a big club. It was only 18 months ago they were top of League 1.

“That just shows what can happen in football. Now they’re second bottom of League 2.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Micky Adams seems to have steadied the ship a bit, got some good results, brought some good players in and seems to be getting the most out of the group that he’s got.

“There’s an ambitious chairman in there as well so I don’t think they’ll struggle, I think they’ll kick on.”

Morecambe will be looking to right a few wrongs on Saturday having seen a one-goal lead at Prenton Park slip in August after Mark Hughes’ red card, Cole Stockton scoring a late winner in a 2-1 Rovers win that ended the Shrimps’ early 100 per cent record.

Bentley said: “It was our first defeat of the season.

“We were top of the table and in good form and went 1-0 up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We made an uncharacteristic mistake with Shaun Beeley for 1-1 and we weren’t really in much danger but obviously the big turning point was the sending off of Mark Hughes. 
“That changed the game, they were all over us and we thought we’d seen in through until the last minute.

“It was one of those days, very frustrating. I had a lot of family there, it’s a local club for me and for a lot of the lads so we owe them one for that.

“Hopefully we can set the record straight on Saturday.”

Andy Fleming, knee, and Andy Wright, groin, will again be missing for the Shrimps.