The Opposition: Tranmere Rovers (A)

The Opposition: Tranmere Rovers (A)
The lowdown on Saturday's opposition

November 10th 2023FGR Media

Rovers make the trip to Prenton Park on Saturday for an important game at Tranmere Rovers. The Super White Army sit one position and three points behind us in the table.

It's our first trip to Birkenhead since our scintillating 4-0 win there on our way to winning the League Two title in 2022. Lots has changed at both clubs since that clash 22 months ago, so here's everything you need to know about Tranmere ahead of this weekend's meeting.

IN THE DUGOUT

A vastly-experienced operator, Nigel Adkins was appointed as Tranmere's permanent Head Coach on a contract until the end of the 2025-26 season.

The Birkenhead-born 58-year-old joined Tranmere in May as the club's new Technical Director. He then stepped up as Interim Head Coach following the dismissal of Ian Dawes in September - and he is now in the role on a permanent basis.

This is Adkins' first Head Coach role for nearly two years, with his last job at Charlton Athletic. He's managed nearly 600 games at professional level, averaging 1.48 points per game, with two promotions to the Championship and one to the Premier League under his belt.

The ever-positive Adkins began his permanent managerial gig with a dramatic 4-3 defeat away at League One high-flyers Stevenage in the FA Cup.

SUMMER BUSINESS

Two of Tranmere's most notable summer signings were two members of Forest Green's League Two title-winning side of 2021-22. Goalkeeper Luke McGee, an ever-present during that historic campaign, is now number one at Tranmere, while midfield technician Regan Hendry also arrived having spent the second half of last season on loan at Prenton Park.

Forward duo Luke Norris and Kristian Dennis have nearly 150 EFL goals between them, and were signed from Stevenage and Carlisle United respectively. Both players hit double figures for their sides last season (Norris 10, Dennis 20), with Stevenage and Carlisle both claiming promotion to League Two.

2003-born winger Rob Apter is on a season-long loan from Blackpool, and impressed for Scunthorpe United in the National League last season despite their relegation. He is beginning to blossom in a Tranmere shirt and scored his first goal in the cup defeat at Stevenage.

Other arrivals included Oldham defender Josef Yarney, former Leyton Orient full-back Connor Wood and 21-year-old Dan Pike.

ONE TO WATCH

With four goals and two assists to his name, no Tranmere player has directly contributed to more goals than Connor Jennings this season.

The 33-year-old returned to Prenton Park this summer after three years away from the club that he's made nearly 200 appearances for. Jennings won back-to-back promotions with Tranmere in his first spell at the Wirral-based outfit - and he scored the Super White Army's only goal in their National League play-off final defeat to Forest Green in the 2016-17 season.

He scored the winning goal in their 2018-19 League Two play-off final win over Newport County and played 29 games in League One the following season, before dropping to the National League to sign for Stockport County.

Shortly after joining Stockport, Jennings was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in his shoulder. He made his return to action in November 2021 and after loan spells at Altrincham and Hartlepool last season, the modern-day Tranmere hero returned to the club in the summer.