CHRIS GREENACRE may hold the key to how Tranmere attempt to crack the tough nut of an FA Cup second round encounter with Peterborough tomorrow.
If the experienced front man passes a fitness test then manager Ronnie Moore says he will have the option of using the same attacking formula that carved holes in the Posh defence when the teams last met in September.
If Greenacre can’t shake off a back injury, then it is more likely Rovers will deploy the 4-5-1 set-up that has made them a tight and resilient force on the road over the last two months.
Either way, Moore insists Tranmere have good reason to be positive about a visit to London Road that puts them in opposition to a team unbeaten in their last 14 League One games.
Moore said: “This isn’t a tie you would have handpicked but there is no fear for us.”
Greenacre hasn’t been a first-team regular this season, often sitting on the bench when Rovers play with a single striker.
But he scored and helped Tranmere carve out a hatful of chances in the 2-2 draw at London Road on September 20 – a game the visitors felt they should have won after taking a 2-0 lead.
The back strain kept Greenacre out of Tranmere’s impressive 2-0 league win over Scunthorpe in midweek.
Moore said: “We are waiting to see how Chris Greenacre is. If he is okay then it gives us the option of going down there and playing 4-4-2. We are hoping he is going to be all right.”
Moore has no intention of giving his battle plans away to opposite number Darren Ferguson, who knows Tranmere have been successful with a more cautious approach on the road since the teams last met. Rovers conceded just two goals in the last five League and cup away games using the 4-5-1 system.
“We have the pace and experience in the side to play either system,” Moore said. “The 4-5-1 is a good system when you are able to counterattack and we can do that with the pace of players like Ed Sonko and Ian Moore in the side.
“We have kept a lot of clean sheets playing that way, home and away but I’m not saying it is the way we’re going to play at Peterborough.”
Tranmere lost their last two FA Cup encounters with Peterborough in 2004 and 2006 and Moore says he would settle for a replay this time around.
But he insisted: “We’re not going there for a draw. We are going to London Road to win the tie. The important thing is to make sure we are in the hat for the draw on Sunday. I want another of those nerve-wracking afternoons when you are waiting for your number to come out off the hat, hoping the luck will favour you.”
The stakes are high for Tranmere. With revenue through the turnstiles at Prenton Park diminishing, a place in the third round draw alongside the Premier League giants offers the prospect of a potential financial jackpot next month.
Moore said: “I know the directors want us to win so there is the chance – the one everyone dreams of – of pulling the tie that puts you in front of a full house at Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal.
“That sort of income, coming into a club like ours, would be a Godsend. It would certainly help us to make the squad here stronger. But first things first, we have to get past Peterborough.”
Ferguson enjoys the advantage of working for a multimillionaire chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, who is prepared to invest significant sums into building success at Peterborough.
This week Ferguson was able to secure the permanent signing of Fulham’s Gaby Zakuani after the defender impressed on a loan spell at London Road.
Tranmere will be without flu victim Chris Shuker for a second in time this week while recent loan signings Mark Wilson (from Doncaster) and John Johnson (from Middlesbrough) don’t have clearance from their clubs to play in the FA Cup.
Ryan Shotton completes the third month of his short-term loan from Stoke City tomorrow. Shotton must then return to the Britannia Stadium. However, Moore says he has secured an agreement with the Premiership club’s manager, Tony Pulis, for Shotton to return to Prenton Park when the January transfer window opens, on a long-term loan that will run until the end of the season.
