THE statistics marking the progress of Tranmere's fight to rescue their season are beginning to change – and so is the calculation chairman Peter Johnson has to make about the manager who takes the mission forward.

Only a few weeks ago the issue worrying most supporters was how quickly the club could find a permanent successor to John Barnes and put him to work. The caretaker regime fronted by physio Les Parry, while lifting performances and morale, wasn't turning the tide of poor results.

But more recently the stats have been telling a different story. The sequences are positive.

Tranmere extended an unbeaten run of four league and cup games by beating Brentford on Saturday. They have lost only twice in the last eight outings and denied the opposition a goal in four of the last six games.

Those numbers are the currency of a team doing the basics well and moving in the right direction.

Look for the story behind the figures and you find a group of players rallying strongly around the leadership of Parry and coaches Shaun Garnett and Wayne Allison.

The team are off the bottom of the League One table and confidence is rising.

We are approaching the point where Johnson and his board of directors have to consider the issue of whether the introduction of a new manager might now be a counterproductive move.

Does a change of leadership risk disturbing the spirit, determination and confidence building in the dressing-room?

They must also ask whether a new manager is likely to draw any more out of the current squad, who are responding to the straightforward and pragmatic approach of Messrs Parry, Garnett and Allison.

Perhaps not.

In the moment of excitement when Tranmere's fourth home League win was secured, the fans on the Bebington Kop made their feelings of gratitude plain with another chorus of "Who needs Mourinho? We've got our physio!"

The team left the pitch to a standing ovation while the spectators left the ground with smiles on their faces. No matter that they had witnessed an untidy scrap rather than an afternoon of refined football entertainment.

They cheered the big-hearted effort, the fierce commitment and the occasional flash of skill and resourcefulness that made Tranmere worthy winners against visitors who could not quite match them in any department.

Brentford's approach was just what you would expect of a team with a reputation for keeping games tight on the road. They were cagey and offered little going forward, relying on set plays to pose a significant threat to the Tranmere goal.

It wasn't enough to satisfy manager Andy Scott, who blistered the paint off the walls of the away dressing room in his condemnation of the Bees' defending for the only goal of the game, scored by Craig Curran from a well-rehearsed free-kick routine on the hour mark.

"If we had got a scrappy 0-0 everyone would have thought it was a hard-earned point but we conceded a poor goal," Scott said.

Tranmere were also inclined to play on the counter-attack, so much of the action was a game of cat-and-mouse.

The home side were more creative in open play, however, and enjoyed the greater share of scoring opportunities. Much credit for that went to young front men Terry Gornell and Curran, who showed strength and determination.