Pete Wild 'having a pop back' at Tranmere Rovers fans as winless run continues

Tranmere Rovers head coach Pete Wild took aim at the club's supporters after his side were on the receiving end of a fourth straight defeat.

The relegation sirens are wailing for the Merseyside outfit after a 10-match winless run has left them 21st in League Two, three points above the drop zone and with difficult fixtures on the horizon.

Fan frustration reached boiling point following Easter Monday's 1-0 loss at home to Colchester United, the fifth successive game in which Tranmere have failed to score since Wild was appointed in March.

Wild has been unable to stop the rot at Prenton Park with the former Barrow and Fleetwood Town boss drawing one and losing four of his five matches in charge.

Despite the exasperation of yet another defeat, Wild believes his team are taking steps in the right direction and was left bemused by the reaction of supporters at the full-time whistle against Colchester, believing his players deserve more credit.

“I want to start with people’s frustrations at the end and having a pop," Wild told Tranmere's club media. "I’m going to have a pop back because I’m here to get a reaction out of the players. The effort and desire we’re getting out of the players is tenfold better than it was three weeks ago.

“There’s no magic wand to wave something and make everything better. The team lost 11 out of 12 before we walked the door. We are here to try and make sure we make them better and make them work harder as a team, which they are doing.

“So if I’m having a pop back at people, [it’s] because I’m frustrated that they’re not giving the players the credit they deserve for the effort they are putting in.

“I know why we play players, I know why we’re doing what we’re doing. Because it makes sense what we’re doing. We’ve had 13 shots at goal today, five on target. It is not a tactical thing, it is about both boxes. We will only get out of this by being better in both boxes.

“I appreciate people are frustrated. I am as wound up and frustrated as everyone else. I am not going to sit there and let people shout at me if I think there’s something wrong and that’s why you get the reaction you get today.”

Tranmere travel to play-off hopefuls Chesterfield on Saturday before the visit of in-form Bristol Rovers, who have won five league games on the spin under Steve Evans.

Rovers then have two away matches against Cheltenham Town and MK Dons within a four-day period before concluding the season at home to Grimsby Town on Saturday 2nd May, where they will be hoping to have accrued enough points to preserve their League Two status.

Opta projections indicate 39 points should be enough for survival, but Tranmere will be eager to surpass the 40-point mark with Newport County, Barrow and Harrogate Town scrapping for their lives.