Ronnie Moore: Time to build on Elland Road win

Feb 5 2008 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

TRANMERE manager Ronnie Moore this week attempts the balancing act of keeping his players feet on the ground while doing nothing to puncture rising confidence levels at Prenton Park.

Rovers renewed their credentials as serious promotion contenders by reclaiming a place in the play-off zone with a run of four consecutive League One wins.

The quality of the team performance in an impressive 2-0 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road last weekend also provided great encouragement for Moore and his coaching staff.

Meanwhile new signings and improving developments on the injury front help to make Tranmere’s prospects look significantly brighter than they did just three weeks ago.

Moore said: “We have not won or achieved anything yet but we have given ourselves a chance.

“We have to stay level-headed now and make the most of the opportunity.”

He added: “Confidence-wise it is a big lift for the players to go and perform in front of 25,000 people and play well. Players can freeze when they go to a place like Elland Road but our lads went out and enjoyed it.

“We kept the Leeds fans very quiet because we stamped our authority on the game from the start. Our supporters were unbelievable and it is great when you can put in a performance to reward them.

“You can’t wait for the next game and in a way it is a pity we don’t have a midweek match.

“A few weeks ago we might not have wanted to play so soon because players were injured and we were not getting the breaks.”

Yesterday, wingers Steve Davies and Chris Shuker were the only names on the Rovers casualty list. And after surgery last week, Shuker is no longer looking at the long haul of recovery from a cruciate ligament injury but a shorter term lay-off with cartilage damage that could see him back in action next month.

Moore said: “You only have to look at our bench to see that we are getting our strength back.

“We had Chris Greenacre, Ben Chorley, John Mullin and Craig Curran among the substitutes at Leeds – and hopefully Chris Shuker will be back in the frame soon as well.

“The Shuker situation is a massive plus for us. We thought he was going to be out until September and now, with a little bit of luck, we could get him back in March. It gives everyone a lift.”

Rovers began to make headway in the difficult transfer market when Moore persuaded Bristol City to allow teenage winger Jennison Myrie-Williams to remain on loan at Prenton Park until the end of the season. Then the manager secured the permanent signing of his son Ian, an experienced and pacy striker, on an 18-month contract, in the last hours of the January transfer window.

Myrie-Williams and Moore scored the second half goals at Elland Road to produce the highlight of Rovers’ season so far.

Moore said: “We had not had that much good news around here until last few weeks. But I do feel we played well through most of January without getting the results that reflected the performances we put in.

“We had the handicap of players being sent off in the defeats at Crewe and Leyton Orient. We battered Hereford in the two FA Cup games but could not put away enough of our chances.

“But if you keep on putting in the work and doing the right things, the luck will change for you. That’s the reason we’ve gone on a run of four straight wins.

“We have given ourselves a chance by not blowing things and taking our opportunities in the last four games. We’ve gained 12 points to get back into the play-off positions.

“But if we’d lost at Millwall on the day the run started, we could have been 10 points behind the top six that night. That is how important some games can be.”