GARY MEGSON’S post-match judgement that Sheffield Wednesday had just taken possession of the hardest-won three points of their season so far, endorsed the view of an appreciative home audience at Prenton Park.

Tranmere may have failed to achieve the positive result that they were looking for after making exits from two cup competitions in the previous week but there were few complaints about the performance from the faithful.

Rovers were applauded off the field at the end, not merely for a wholehearted physical effort but in matching the big city promotion-chasers for quality.

Les Parry’s team can count themselves unfortunate to have emerged empty-handed from a vigorous and absorbing contest which stood as a compelling advertisement for League One football.

The statistics of the last month may be a little disappointing for Tranmere, who have not won in five league and cup outings. But on this evidence Parry and his coaching staff don’t have a major problem with the way the team is functioning, save for the important fine tuning of turning chances into goals.

They are certainly not in need of the kind of overhaul Megson began when he took over at Hillsborough in February of this year.

One of his first games in charge was a 3-0 trouncing at Prenton Park when he had to listen to 2,000 Wednesday fans shouting “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” at his players from the Cowshed Stand.

The well-travelled and vastly-experienced Megson has tackled the job with typical gusto, making large-scale changes to the squad and putting some backbone into a team that rolled over too easily in the last campaign.