Jennings heartened by Rovers’ resilience

Sep 26 2007 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

STEVE JENNINGS identifies a new resilience and never-say-die spirit in the Tranmere Rovers dressing room that gives him optimism for the months ahead.

The young midfielder usually watched from the sidelines or even further afield last season as Tranmere acquired a reputation as a team that could not deal with a setback.

When Ronnie Moore’s side went behind, they almost invariably stayed behind. The flaw cost them defeat in many a tight game and fatally undermined their hopes of sustaining a promotion challenge.

By the time that Tranmere notched the first comeback victory of the 2006-07 league campaign against Brighton on Easter Monday, the play-offs had moved out of reach.

Jennings is now a regular in the Tranmere side making a bright start to the new campaign – just as they did a year ago.

But the 22-year-old from Kirkby is heartened by evidence suggesting this team knows how to take a blow and come back fighting.

Tranmere notched a comeback victory in their last home game, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes to defeat Luton at Prenton Park 12 days ago.

That success followed a 1-1 draw at Yeovil secured by an equaliser in the last minute of injury time.

Jennings said: “I think we have shown we are a decent team with something about us this season.

“There have been some difficult games in which we got goals late on – and that gives you confidence for the next game.

“After the Luton game we feel that if we do go a goal down, we don’t have to start panicking. Of course we want to avoid going a goal behind in games but I’m 100% confident we can deal with that situation now.”

Tranmere, unbeaten in four league games on the road, prepare for successive home fixtures against Northampton on Saturday and Crewe Alexandra the following Tuesday.

Manager Ronnie Moore sees the Prenton Park double header as an opportunity for Tranmere to climb from second place in the table to the summit.

Moore says his squad is better balanced than last season’s group, following the introduction of four summer signings.

Two of them, goalkeeper Danny Coyne and centre-back Ben Chorley, have been first-team regulars, although Coyne missed last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Cheltenham with a calf strain.

Jennings could almost be counted as a fifth new player in Moore’s squad, as he barely figured in the first-team line-up last season, making just two substitute appearances in the league.

A loan spell at Hereford in the early months of the new year followed by a summer working to a personal fitness programme saw Jennings return to the first-team fold with renewed vigour.

He gives Rovers drive and energy at the heart of midfield to complement the passing skills of the more experienced Paul McLaren.

Jennings’s form is so persuasive Moore has been unable to find a first-team place for summer signing Adnan Ahmed while the absence of John Mullin through a succession of injuries since the summer is not causing the selection problems it might have done.

Jennings said: “I have got something to prove because the manager did not see much of me last season. Apart from a couple of appearances as a substitute and a game or two in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, he really only saw me in training.

“I just want to keep doing what I’m doing. I am only 22 so I have got the legs to get me around the pitch, helping to set up goals and helping to stop them. I am going from game to game because I know there is plenty of competition.”

Anthony Kay is now adding to the pressure on Jennings’ position. The versatile central defender, who can also play full-back or in the midfield, made substitute appearances, at Jennings expense, in the final 20 minutes of the last two games.

Jennings said: “All I can do, from a personal point of view, is my best and hope that my name is on the team sheet for the following week. The gaffer has pulled some of us aside and told us that if we were to be left out, it would not be because we are playing badly but because he might want to change the team tactically. But so far he has not made too many changes to the team.”