A SUPPORTERS’ trust and its members believe they are on course to become the third largest shareholders in Tranmere.

The Tranmere and Wirral Football Supporters Trust is in the process of acquiring a number of shares in the League One club which are being made available for sale to supporters.

Chairman Ben Harrison told the Trust’s annual meeting this week that once the transactions are completed, they are confident supporters will hold the third largest group of shares.

Harrison said: “Our long-term aim is to win boardroom representation at Prenton Park and we are making progress towards that. The next target is to achieve a 5% stake in the club.”

Chairman Peter Johnson owns approximately 60% of the shares in Tranmere after buying control of the club when it lapsed into administration in 1987.

Former chairman and chief executive Lorraine Rogers owns 30%, the stake she acquired from Johnson soon after her appointment as chairman in 1999.

Johnson has been looking to sell his controlling holding in Tranmere for more than 10 years but a buyer does not appear to be on the horizon.

The latest published accounts show Rovers owe the Wirral multimillionaire businessman around £5.5million in loans and loan guarantees.

Rogers she would be willing to listen to offers for her shares when announcing a decision to step down as chairman 18 months ago.

“But in August of this year Rogers said she was “not proactively looking to sell my shares in the club.”

Harrison said the Trust had made three offers to buy Rogers 150,000 shares over a recent months, at £70,000, £85,000 and £100,000. All three offers were rejected.

Rogers was unavailable for comment last night.

Johnson has made it clear he is unwilling to make any further personal investment in Tranmere and says the club has to stand on its own two feet financially.

Over the majority of recent seasons that has meant annual operating losses of around £1m with Rovers attempting to make up the shortfall in transfer fees for players sold to other clubs.

Tranmere have not enjoyed any significant revenue from cup runs in recent years.

Victory this weekend in an FA Cup second round tie at home to Aldershot would put Rovers into the third round hat with the giants of the Premier League and the chance of a pairing that could change the financial picture at Prenton Park.

The most pressing concern for most fans however is Tranmere’s plight of the bottom of the League One table.

The season’s budget for players is already spent by John Barnes, who was appointed manager by Johnson in June and sacked in October after defeats in eight of the first 11 league games.

Caretaker manager Les Parry, or a possible successor, has limited scope to change the squad. Supporters attending the Trust’s annual meeting expressed fears that the club could be heading for relegation back to the bottom division of the Football League ladder.

Harrison said: “This club has been through difficulties before, notably in the 1980s. The experience here and at other clubs around the country is that the most challenging of times, when the future of the local football team is on the line, are also the times when supporters organisations and supporters trusts come to the fore.

“This trust wants to be ready to meet that challenge, should it arise.”

Harrison said a limited number of shares remain available for supporters to purchase.

Anyone interested should contact Ben Harrison c/o Home Coffee, 62 Christchurch Road, Oxton CH 43 5SF. Anyone purchasing shares will qualify for automatic membership of TWFST.