Little: We have progressed despite recent dip in form

Oct 5 2005 By Nick Hilton, Daily Post

THE League One table makes uncomfortable reading as Tranmere Rovers approach the second anniversary next week of Brian Little's arrival at Prenton Park.

On the day - October 13, 2003 - Little was appointed the club's fourth manager in less than three years Tranmere, languished in 21st place.

They had registered only two wins and taken just 11 points from the first 13 games of the campaign.

When the former Leicester and Aston Villa manager started work the next morning he laid out plans for a survival battle.

The board's decision to choose the most experienced manager in the club's history paid off.

Rovers climbed steadily away from relegation danger and embarked upon a money-spinning run to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in Little's first season in charge. Then in the second they sustained a promotion challenge all the way to the play-off semi-finals.

But as Tranmere prepare for game 13 of the current campaign, at home to Scunthorpe on Friday, the run of success has dried up.

Little is experiencing the first seriously difficult spell of his time in charge. A smaller, younger squad is struggling to adjust to the losses of a Ryan Taylor, Iain Hume and Paul Hall, the first two sold in big-money deals to Wigan and Leicester, the third a summer departure on a free transfer to Chesterfield.

A run of six games without a win has left Tranmere in 20th spot in the table - just one place better off than that lowly starting point for Little of two years ago.

The suggestion that Tranmere have travelled full circle and now face another long fight against relegation is rejected by Little. Indeed, the manager suggests Tranmere should not be counted out of the promotion race with barely a quarter of the season completed.

He argues that the division is more competitive and unpredictable than in the last two seasons. The majority of managers in League One agree with him.