Tranmere captain John Welsh urges fans to get behind team ahead of Boxing Day game against Rochdale

Dec 26 2011 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

JOHN WELSH and Ash Taylor have delivered a “get behind us” message to the Prenton Park faithful ahead of this afternoon’s Boxing Day encounter with Rochdale.

Skipper Welsh and defender Taylor say the home crowd support can be a big plus as Rovers attempt to halt a run of four League One defeats in the first of the festive fixtures.

Both men warned that a repeat of the booing during the last home game, a 2-0 defeat to promotion chasers MK Dons, is liable to be counter-productive at the start of an important spell for Les Parry’s team.

Welsh said: “We are just asking everyone to get behind the lads. The fans have been brilliant home and away for most of the season. Obviously they were disappointed with the outcome against MK Dons but I’m sure they will be brilliant for us again”

Taylor said: “The fans can be 12th man for us in most games. If everyone gets behind us it helps us push forward, it gives us a good feeling.”

Welsh, in his third season at Prenton Park following spells with Liverpool and Hull City, says he understands the frustration of fans as Tranmere’s bright start to the campaign lost momentum over the last two months. They last won at Hartlepool on October 25.

“I just hope they can be patient with us,” Welsh said. “We know results have been poor of late and we are just as disappointed as the fans when things are not going well.

“No matter what people say, we don’t purposely go out not to play well. We are trying as hard as we can and I would just ask fans to get behind us as much as they can.”

Welsh added: “We know it is a two-way street. We have got to cheer the supporters up, give them something to shout about. But we also need to stay positive.

“A couple of wins over Christmas and we can be back up in the top half of the table.”

Taylor concedes booing and jeering from supporters can have a negative impact on some players’ performances.

“Some get affected if the crowd get on their backs but as players we all stick together on the pitch,” Taylor said. “Is down to us in the end.

“If we can pick up a couple of wins over Christmas, the New Year might look a lot different.”

Manager Les Parry acknowledges the first goal could be all-important to a Rovers side who have found it difficult to fight their way back into games after falling behind in recent weeks.

“I think the first goal is going to be very important,” Parry said. “As we all know we have gone 1-0 behind in the last four or five games when we’ve been the better side. We’ve not been able to recover from that.

“I get a few players back from injury I think that will make a difference.”

The potential for Parry to change the line-up for today’s game is likely depend on whether players currently on the casualty list can put themselves back into contention.

Centre back Ian Goodison, who missed two games with a hamstring injury and right back David Raven, sidelined for two games with a thigh strain, will be given every opportunity to return to the selection frame.

Zoumana Bakayogo, fighting off a knee injury and Michael Kay, who suffered a broken rib in the 2-1 defeat at Stevenage last Saturday, may take a little longer.

Parry said: “Both Ian and David had a run in training and are still a little bit unsure. We will leave it until as late as we can.

“Zoum is still feeling his knee when he strikes the ball. If needed, I think he could be persuaded to play. Michael Kay’s ribs are sore. It’s a question of when he can put up with the level of pain he gets from playing.”

No player can be entirely sure this place in a team that has not won in six League One games. Parry said: “We need to score a goal and we need to win to get us going. We’ve got two home games coming up over Christmas and it does not matter who they are against. The players, like myself, see this as a decent opportunity.

“Even with a run we’ve had we can get up to 32 points by the halfway point of the season. That goes to show how well we were doing earlier in the season and it shows why we have to get back to playing that well again.”