Mellon gives loan players game time at parent clubs

Having conceded only six goals all season, the Whites head into Saturday's home match against Northampton Town fifth in the table and just a point off second place.

A run of eight matches without defeat in all competitions has got the Super White Army purring, but seasoned promotion campaigner Micky Mellon is not getting carried away.

Speaking at his regular post match press conference today, he said: "I think we have been building and building with a new group and we know that the more time that we spend together, the more relationships we are building across the pitch and we're going to keep improving.

"That's what's happening at the moment. We are getting better and better. We're understanding he each other plays and the way that we want to play.

"We're doing OK. I still believe that we can get better. But certainly on Tuesday night (against Harrogate Town) we showed that we can compete with a team that have come out of the traps like lightening. We were dissapointed at the end of it that we didn't win the game, but it was certainly a place for us to come away from and say we're definitely heading in the right direction."

Tranmere's squad was completely reassembled in the summer, with 18 new arrivals. But the with club's good run of results establishing a more settled side, a number of players have been struggling for game time.

That includes some notable loan players - forwards Paul Glatzel from Liverpool and Stephen Walker from Middlesbrough.

Tranmere manager Micky Mellon

In what appeared to be an unusual move for a player on loan, Glatzel turned out of Liverpool U23s - and scored - last Saturday against Arsenal U23s.

When quizzed on the situation, Mellon explained the move and how Walker will be doing the same tomorrow evening.

Mellon said: "We we speak to the parent club of all of the players that we have on loan we say we will take their players and help them with their development.

"Part of the agreement that we have, is that if we haven't got match time for them, we can send them back for their parent club, which is ideal for them really.

"Because we can send them back there with all the improvements that have been made with us in their own back garden, if you like.

"So Paul as an example, he's gone back and played against Arsenal at Anfield and played very well and scored a good goal.

"We will then communicate with Liverpool's staff and they will speak about where we believe he's improved and where we believe he can still improve, while trying to move him closer to being a Tranmere player. So it's the perfect fit for us all.

"Stephen Walker is going to play for Middlesbrough on Friday night, and we need him - if this situation is going to continue - to keep improving the relationships with these football clubs.

"We need him to go up there and play well for Middlesbrough and their staff to say 'Yeah, we're definitely moving in the right direction with Stephen Walker. He looks fitter, he looks stronger, his movement's better.

"I'm going up to watch the game. I went to watch the Liverpool game as well.

"Ultimately it would be about getting players into Tranmere's first team to progress, but the bare minimum of the relationship would be that they go back to their parent clubs as better players because of the fantastic environment that we have here at Tranmere.

"How we communicate with the parent clubs is a win-win situation for everyone concerned.

"Paul trained with us again this morning and we're still working on the things he will need to keep moving forward as a player and keep the players who are in the first team now under pressure and try and make Tranmere a better team as well."

Rovers have successfully navigated back-to-back away matches, collecting four points along the way, but now face a Northampton Town side who are a point behind Rovers and have won their last two matches.

Mellon added: "We love playing in front of the fans. That's what the football club is all about. We're here to create a football team for them that they feel is well worth coming to watch and represent them properly.

"One of the things we know that we need to deliver on is consistency and keep improving.

"We won't take our foot off the pedal. We'll keep driving on. It's still early in the season. but we're heading in the right direction and it's a good place to be.

"There will be many ups and downs across the season, but we know what needs to be done in order to keep moving forward."

Mellon revealed that he does have some fitness issues on some of his players heading into the weekend but would not reveal which ones and insisted that he would give them all the maximum time possible to prove that they could be ready for Saturday's match.

Tranmere Rovers v Northampton Town kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, October 23 at Prenton Park. Follow the action with the Globe's live match blog.