TRANMERE are ready to push teenager Marvin Sordell into the front line of the fight for League One survival at the Priestfield Stadium tonight.

Sordell, on a month-long loan from Watford, made a positive impression in a 40 minute substitute appearance in last Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Oldham Athletic.

Now manager Les Parry is poised to give the 18-year-old striker a starting role in the crunch visit to Gillingham – another team fighting the threat of relegation.

Parry said: “Marvin certainly did well enough on his debut to be considered for a starting place at Gillingham.

“He gives us something a little bit different to what we already have. It was a great piece of skill that got him his chance towards the end of the Oldham game. The keeper was very fortunate to save his second effort with his shin.”

Parry is confident Sordell has the ability to adapt his game to what ever attacking pattern Tranmere deploy against the Gills.

The youngster was used as a central striker in a 4-4-2 set-up of last weekend but Parry says he is considering a return to the 4-3-3 system Rovers used for most of his four months in charge of team affairs.

He said: “Marvin has played a lot of 4-3-3 at Watford. I had a chat with him after he joined and he is confident playing the central striking role or being one of the wider players.

“Marvin is a quiet lad is also a confident lad and I was not surprised that he got into his stride so quickly.”

Rovers could make a second change to the starting line-up with Zoumana Bakayogo available for recall at left-back after missing the Oldham game through suspension.

The dilemma for Parry is that Aaron Cresswell produced a strong showing in the role against Oldham and the 20-year-old will be hoping to hold onto his place.

Parry said: “I felt Aaron was our best player in the first half and he got some good quality balls into the box. He made some good tackles and some good headers.

“I thought he tired a bit in the second half and wasn’t quite as involved in the game. But overall he did well and he is a quality player.

“Zoum does slightly better going forward. It is a close call between the two of them and a decision I will have to make.”

That decision may well be influenced by the kind of formation Tranmere take into the game. Parry has suggested he is leaning towards returning to the 4-3-3 set up that usually helped to make the team more difficult for opponents to break down. But defensive strength sometimes comes at the price of a diminished threat going forward.

Either way, Parry and coaches Shaun Garnett and Wayne Allison want to stick with one system for the remainder of the season, once a decision is made.

The stakes are high for both teams tonight. A Tranmere victory would bring them level on points with Gillingham, who start the game one place above the drop zone and three ahead of Rovers.

Parry said: “When you are playing a team from close to the bottom of the division you always think it’s a winnable game and this will be no different.”

Gillingham manager Mark Stimson is under pressure from sections of supporters following a 4-0 hammering at Brentford last Saturday – their 12th away defeat of the season.

The Gill’s haul of just three points from 15 away games is the worst in the division, although Tranmere, with six points, have done little better on the road.

Stimson says there is “no chance” he will walk out after a miserable run yielding one win in 11 games.

He said: “I was brought up in the East End. You don’t walk for anyone, you face it eye-to-eye and you get on with it. It’s not something you want to hear as a manager but it happens.

“I’ve always said I’ll do my best until the chairman tells me any different. He’s the one who will make that decision. It’s not happened to me yet but every manager is hired to be fired.”