Tranmere boss Micky Mellon is relishing the return of Friday night football to Prenton Park tomorrow evening and has reiterated his love for the great traditions of the club.

Rovers will kick off the weekend by hosting Colchester United under the floodlights on Friday, upholding a tradition that proved so popular with supporters and the Merseyside public in the 1980s and 1990s.

The early weekend fixture slot is more of a rarity these days but Mellon is determined to use tomorrow's game as a opportunity to show his current batch of players just how special the evening kick-off is in Birkenhead.

He said: "It's a unique atmosphere to Tranmere, because of the history of Friday nights and how much everybody loves them. We're delighted that we could get one in.

"Friday night will be terrific. I believe the weather is going to be good, so you can expect some extra fans. It should be great for the atmosphere and I'm sure the players will embrace that an enjoy playing under the floodlights on a Friday night."

A win for Rovers tomorrow evening will take them into the playoff positions and possibly even as high as third, depending on the scoreline, with all other League Two sides not getting their matches underway until Saturday afternoon.

"You enjoy winning every game. You can enjoy it for a few hours then (watching the other results come in) if you win. If you get a result you can have an extra special weekend, so the motivation is there for us to try and go and get that," he added.

Tranmere head into the match with the meanest defence in League Two, having only conceded four goals all season, but it was their centre-back who delivered the goals at the other end last Saturday to see off Crawley Town.

Captain Peter Clarke found the net either side of half time, to clinch all three points, earning praise from his manager.

Mellon said: "He's a great example of good professionalism, great desire, setting really high standards - on and off the pitch - lives the right way, prepares the right way and deserves all the plaudits that come his way. We're just delighted that he plays for us."

With only one defeat in their last five matches, Rovers have steadily climbed the table and now sit well placed in ninth, with momentum growing, but despite the growing feelgood vibes at Prenton Park, the manager is in no mood to get carried away.

He said: "It's that we are where we are but I still believe that we can get better. We still want to keep improving and that will happen with time, because relationships will build and as we grow performances will be better.

"We certainly fell like we're in a good place at the minute. We'll keeping moving it forward and keep pushing it all the time in order to keep trying to improve."

Mellon will have a fully-fit outfield squad to select his starting XI from tomorrow and will also be able to recall left back Calum MacDonald after his one match suspension was served against Crawley.

Opponents Colchester currently lie 18th in the table, with just one point from their last three games, but despite having a poor home record, two wins and three draws away from home will give Rovers something to think about.

Mellon said: "(They've got a) good set of players, very good squad. Unbelievable experience within the group, who have played for good clubs, so you know that there's a lot of talent.

"You've got to make sure that you turn up and give it your best performance, because you know that if you don't they are well capable of causing you a lot of problems, because of the talent that they have in the squad."