Police officers investigating the shocking murder of a Wirral man say that his movements around the time of Tranmere's home match on Saturday could be crucial.

Martin Decker, who lived alone, was found dead inside his Prenton home on Sunday evening by his own family, after they became increasingly worried about his whereabouts.

The 69-year-old retired Crown Prosecution Service employee was a long-standing supporter of Tranmere Rovers and investigators say that his affiliation to the club could provide missing information in the case.

Speaking to the Globe at Merseyside Police Headquarters this afternoon, Detective Superintendent Richie Salter said: "Police and ambulance were called to 5 Vyner Croft in Prenton on Sunday at about 5.20pm by Martin's family.

"They were a really close family, in regular contact with each other, but they hadn't heard from him on Saturday evening right through to the Sunday. They became really concerned and went round to find out where he was.

"When going into the house they found him lying on the living room floor with significant head injuries.

"Vyner Croft is a small new road with very little passing traffic. Not many people live there.

"He lived in a converted water tower, which might be a significant landmark if people spotted it.

"He was an avid Tranmere Rovers fan, which were are hoping will be significant.

"We would have expected him to be watching the Crawley game (against Tranmere), probably streaming it, on Saturday afternoon.

"His friends would expect him to then get in touch with him afterwards to have a conversation about the game. He didn't make that contact.

"Having been in contact with people around midday / One O'clock on Saturday - and for that contact not to take place after the game - I'm looking at the moment in terms of Saturday tea time as a really significant time and I'm asking the public for their help.

"I'm asking for anybody who might have been driving around Boundary Road or even in Vyner Croft, who might have noticed individuals or vehicles potentially or possibly themselves have dashcam footage of the area, to get in touch with us so we can get hold of that and see what it means in terms of this death."

Police have set up a Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP), which is an online facility that allows people to get in touch with the force to upload details, contact numbers, video or dashcam footage or anything else that could help with the investigation.

Despite Mr Decker's previous line on employment, Det Insp Salter was linking the attack directly to his old job.

He added: "We always looks at any potential line of enquiry. He'd been retired a long time from the Crown Prosecution Service and had a really significant role there, but it's not a significant line of enquiry in terms of this investigation."

Det Insp Salter also moved to alley fears in the local area following the unsettling incident.

He added: "This is a rare occasion for the country, this sort of thing. People do get murdered but very infrequently in these sort of circumstances.

"There's a huge amount of effort going into this. Because it's so rare we've got a number of officers knocking on doors and doing their investigations - the forensic officers behind the scenes - there's many more.

"Also supporting the family. Martin's mum is 89. This is a significant blow to her, as it would be to any family. We're doing all we can to support them.

"It's really important to us that we get justice and work out what's happened to Martin."

As well us using the MIPP service, anyone with any information can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.