Les Parry may be forced to bring in a new goalkeeper

Mar 19 2010 Liverpool Daily Post

INJURY concerns about goalkeepers Luke Daniels and Joe Collister could put Tranmere manager Les Parry in a tight spot on how he spends the pot of transfer funds raised by supporters.

Members of the Tranmere and Wirral Football Supporters Trust are due to formally present a check for £11,500 to the club before the start of tonight’s League One encounter with Hartlepool United at Prenton Park (kick-off 7.45pm).

The “Les Aid” money may well have been committed by that time the action kicks off if Rovers are forced to sign a goalkeeper on loan.

But Parry will be hoping he can hold the cash back to sign a full-back to cover the impending suspensions hitting Zoumana Bakayogo and Aaron Cresswell.

Much will depend on how Daniels reacts to the ankle injury he sustained in training this week.

It does not help matters that Collister, his teenage understudy, suffered a slight hamstring strain in a reserve match on Wednesday and was withdrawn after 17 minutes of the action.

Parry said: “Luke went over on his ankle in training. He’s been sore but hopefully it will be okay. Joe had a tight hamstring and (coach) Shaun Garnett decided to take him off early in the reserve match so he did not aggravate the condition.

“We will look at both of them because it’s not a position we can mess about with. If Luke isn’t right, we will go out and get a keeper.”

Tranmere have until noon today to sign a player under the emergency loan system and it is likely they will go knocking on the door of a local Premier League club to sign a goalkeeper from the reserve ranks.

Parry recruited Liverpool’s David Martin on a loan arrangement in October when Daniels picked up a suspension.

Parry added: “This is the kind of situation we had in mind when we said we would not rush out and spend the Les Aid money as soon as we knew it was coming.

“We have the problem next week with the full-backs so we are looking closely at the situations we might face between now and the end of the season.”

Tranmere will be without Bakayogo tonight and for the visit to Brighton next weekend while the Frenchman serves a two-match suspension for his dismissal at Bristol Rovers last Saturday. Cresswell is available to fill the role tonight but the 20-year-old is then due to start a three match ban of his own as a result of the straight red card he received in a Liverpool Senior Cup tie against Liverpool last week.

Parry has indicated his preference for finding a specialist for the left back spot rather than making compromises at a crucial phase of the fight for League One survival.

Tranmere’s cushion above the bottom four was cut to a single point by results elsewhere this week. But they have a chance to steal a march on relegation threatened rivals by picking up three points tonight.

Victory would take Rovers above Hartlepool, who have been slipping down the table after a run of nine straight defeats on the road.

TRANMERE chief executive Mick Horton proudly handed over a cheque for close to £1500 to the Help for Heroes charity this week. The money was raised through a ground collection at Tranmere’s League One game against Southampton earlier this month.

Horton presented the cheque to Dave Roberts, Help for Heroes County co-ordinator and local members of the Armed Forces, at Prenton Park.

Horton said: “We are delighted to help such a worthy cause and thanks to our supporters for their donations.”