MARVIN SORDELL says he is happy to subject himself to ordeals of bullying in the cause of helping Tranmere fight off the threat of relegation.
The teenage striker, on a month’s loan from Watford, has been learning to deal with being roughed up by League One defenders after making five appearances in a Rovers shirt.
Sordell hopes for another chance to test his skills and resilience in the encounter at Brentford on Saturday – and to add to the goal he notched against Leyton Orient last weekend.
He said: “Watford sent me here to learn, to get bullied by big centre backs and improve my game all-round. I want to go back to Watford a better player and help them. While I am here, I want to do the best I can to help Tranmere get out of the situation they are in now.”
Sordell acknowledges the League One survival battle is a long way from the kind of football he was playing in the reserves and youth teams at Watford and in a handful of senior appearances for the Championship side.
“I have changed my style of play to adapt to the team and help us try to win games,” Sordell said. “When I first came into the side, in the game against Oldham, we were playing 4-4-2 and I was just behind the striker.
“More recently I’ve been starting games up front on my own in a 4-3-3, with the responsibilities of that role.”
He added: “I have learned not to try and take too many touches on the ball. That is something you can get away with at reserve and youth team level but here you have to move the ball quickly.”
Sordell’s first Tranmere goal was a crisp finish in the 2-1 win over Orient. “That goal was a relief to be honest because a couple of my shots beforehand were not the best,” Sordell confessed.
The loan arrangement is due to expire early next month and Sordell isn’t sure what will happen next. “I have just decided to take each day is it comes, that seems to be the way in football,” he said.
Whatever his own future holds, Sordell says he is confident Tranmere can escape the drop. Rovers held onto a place outside the bottom four in spite of losing at home to Huddersfield on Tuesday – their first defeat in four games.
Sordell said: “It is good to know we can suffer a defeat and still be outside the relegation places. That helps with the confidence. I think we can push on from here.
“When I first came to Tranmere and saw the position the club was in I was surprised. From the first day in training I could see the players are all technically good, fit and have all the know-how. Maybe a bit of luck needed to go their way.”
