Micky Mellon has spoken ahead of Saturday’s fixture against Mansfield Town at Prenton Park.
During the discussion, Mellon covered various topics including the recent loss at Bradford on Tuesday, the progress of the players, updates on the team, and the contract extension for Charlie Jolley.
Mellon started by expressing his disappointment with his team’s performance at the University of Bradford Stadium on Tuesday evening.
“It was very disappointing. Disappointed in the goals that we conceded, and when we get in the positions to score, you must take those opportunities if you want to win those types of games. We weren’t able to do that in mid-week.
“We keep speaking about development, and unfortunately, some part of development is learning from things which we get massively punished for, but we’ve got to do better in those types of moments. We won’t hold grudges against those lads, but there was positives about the performance too. The end-all is the result, but we have to come away from it and analyse and see where we’ve got to do better.
“With experience, you learn to be composed, more focused in key moments – and that’s what it’s about. There’s a lot of young players in that group and they’ve got to identify the right way to be, the right way to think, so they will learn from that.”
Mellon has recently brought in five new signings during the January transfer window and he acknowledges their positive contribution to the team, yet he believes there is still untapped potential from his new players.
“I think they’ve done well. I wouldn’t say that they’ve come in and not already made an impact, they’ve had a really good start, so I’m pleased so far with what they’ve brought. I’m sure that the whole group will continue to grow, so if we can cut out the individual mistakes, then we will see better results.
“On our day, we’ve shown that we can be a match for anybody, but part of your development is about the consistency of performance throughout the game. That’s what the teams at the top end of the league have found, and you’d like to think that we could sustain a performance, which we have done against the likes of Salford and Leyton Orient recently – however, you’ve got to find that consistency.
“We acknowledge that people are disappointed when we don’t get results, and that people have travelled to come and watch us and we don’t get results, and that does frustrate me personally, but all we can do is try and find that level of performance that gets us those results.”
Micky explained the different ‘mixture’ and the perfect environment to introduce a young player to regular league two football, and how they can excel in that mixture.
“Time, exposure to first team football, the right types of training sessions at the right tempo, a high standard, keep them believing and working hard, supporting them, making sure that they know that you are on their side – and to keep trying to show them the levels of performance which will get us results.
“I always wonder about confidence and think whether it is a weak man’s way out. You’ve got to show character, you’ve got to believe in yourself, you’ve got to do the right things which have got you to this stage of your career and focus on doing those things well.
“We will keep going from day-to-day, game-to-game, and I don’t remember making any promises at the start of the season. We knew about the type of job that it was going to be, and we haven’t made any promises – we knew that there would be ups and downs but we didn’t know how the team would do. The way that it has panned out is that it has been inconsistent, with the highest of highs, beating teams at the top of the league, and the lowest of lows, struggling on the road – so we’ll continue to work from day-to-day on the right stuff. Of course we want to win games, and we need to win games, but we will see where the season now takes us, and my focus is completely on that.
“It’s not about myself, it’s about me supporting these players and hoping that they find a way to find consistency, which will enable them to win game after game and so that they finish the season strongly. We’re at a stage now where we know what they’re all capable of, and how they win games, but it’s now about putting that all together. It’s not about me, I invest all my focus and energy to make these players the best that they can be – but it could take time.”
Last Friday, it was revealed by Chairman, Mark Palios, in his Q&A Session with fans, that youngster Charlie Jolley had signed a new contract with the club.
“He [Charlie Jolley] is massively unlucky to receive an injury, especially in pre-season, but he’s showed a lot of character, has trained really well and got through his rehab. He’s not back out to us on the grass yet, but there’s a lad who’s got really good potential and someone who can do really well for Tranmere in the future, so it’s good to see that the club are investing in their young talent, and hopefully, we can see Charlie play in the first team very soon.”
Finally, Micky spoke about Team News ahead of Saturday afternoon’s fixture at Prenton Park between Tranmere Rovers and Mansfield Town.
“We’ve picked up a few injuries, but we don’t make excuses for that, and we can give players the opportunity who deserve to play, and perform, and show us what they’re made of, so they’ll have the opportunity to do that. None of the longer-term injuries are back yet, but we’ll put a team out who we think will represent us properly.”
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