Defence is the priority as John Barnes looks to arrest Tranmere’s poor run at Exeter

Sep 19 2009 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Echo

SHORING up the holes in a leaky Tranmere defends is priority number one for manager John Barnes at Exeter City this afternoon.

Rovers travel to St James’s Park on the back of a run of five consecutive League One defeats in which they yielded 14 goals to their opponents.

“We’ve got to stop conceding goals,” Barnes said.

“Yes, it would be nice to score and win but I will be happy if we don’t concede – because we have been conceding far too many.”

Tranmere are yet to keep a clean sheet in seven league outings this season. While Barnes acknowledges some of his defenders are not at the top of their game, he insists the responsibility for tightening the team up falls on players in all departments.

“The area where we are falling down is when we don’t have the ball,” Barnes said. “We are not stopping the opposition from creating chances and scoring goals. We really have to work on that as a team, not just as the back four.

“All teams need their midfield players to provide help in protecting the back four. The better the defenders are playing, the less protection they need. We are struggling individually so we, as a team, have to work harder to stop the opposition getting at our back four.

“If we defend the way we have been doing recently, allowing teams to get wide and get crosses into the box and get into our back four, any team is going to score against us.”

Barnes is ready to follow through on his threat to make changes after last weekend’s 3-2 home defeat to Walsall.

Those adjustments could mean a change in formation and personnel to give the side more resilience.

The manager has the option to play three centre-backs – Ian Goodison, Marlon Broomes and Ash Taylor – now that Broomes is over the sickness that forced him out of the Walsall game at half-time.

Rovers are hopeful that goalkeeper Luke Daniels will be able to play in spite of the knee wound he sustained last weekend. But the gash, which required 15 stitches, is close to the joint and could open up so a third goalkeeper, 16-year old Andy Coughlin, is on stand-by to provide cover for No 2 Joe Collister.

Local boy Collister, 17, made his first League appearance as a second-half sustitute for Daniels against the Saddlers.

“I’ve got no problems if Joe has to play,” Barnes said. “Of course he’s young and obviously goalkeepers get better with experience. But in terms of decision-making, Joe showed last Saturday is already very good at making those decisions.”

New arrival Seb Carole could earn a start in a wide midfield role after playing 90 minutes in the reserves in midweek and signing a short-term contract that ties him to Rovers until January.

The 27-year-old Frenchman has defensive qualities to his game that helped him make more than 50 senior appearances for Leeds.

Barnes said: “I spoken to some people at Sheffield United, where Seb has been training. He is a midfield player who is intelligent, quite quick and he knows how to keep the ball.”

Barnes added: “There very well may changes. To be honest it has nothing to do with the desire and the attitude shown by the players, which has been good. It has to do with the fact that not only are we away from home, we are struggling.

“It’s not a question of anyone playing particularly badly because I don’t think you can single any one out for playing worse than anyone else.”

Meanwhile the return to fitness of team captain Ian Thomas-Moore gives Barnes a wealth of options in attack with Michael Ricketts, Kithson Bain, Craig Curran and Terry Gornell also vying for selection at St James’s Park.

Exeter, promoted from League Two last season, start the afternoon three points better off than Tranmere. But they are yet to post a home win in three attempts.

Barnes said: “Leeds, Charlton and MK Dons are among the special teams in this division everyone else, like Exeter and ourselves, are a hard-working well-organised side.

“There wasn’t much between the teams when be played Walsall last week and I’m expecting the same again against Exeter.”