Business Focus
Tranmere manager Darrell Clarke said he will focus on ‘business’ as he returns to former club Port Vale on Saturday after a promising start to the season. Clarke, who led Vale to promotion from League Two in 2022, will face a team that lost its opening league game following relegation. He stressed that sentiment will be set aside and the priority will be to win the match.
Clarke added: “I’ve got great rapport with the supporters and the people there - some great, fantastic people. I’ve had success there and some great memories, they’ll know me very well. I’ve been back before, and I’m going there to do business, to try and win the game.” He also said he would thank the supporters for their past support but would then “focus on the game and try and get another win.”
Squad Development
Tranmere started the campaign with a win and a clean sheet against Shrewsbury, but Clarke said his new-look squad remains a work in progress. He explained: “It’s a new squad. It’s going to take a lot of work. It takes more than seven days, more than the pre-season programme, to get what we need to do. We need to get better at what we do, and we need to layer things up as well. There’s a hell of a lot of work to go into that.”
Clarke warned that judging either side after one game is “a little bit ridiculous.” He said it will take rhythm and games to get the flow of the season. He also noted that Port Vale, which lost their opening league game, has a good squad and that manager John (John McGlynn) will “get them well organised and they’ll certainly be challenging the top end of League Two.”
Transfer Plans
Clarke revealed he would like to bring in “another four or five” players before the transfer window closes, and that “possibly one or two players could leave.” He also said goalkeeper Luke McGee has returned to light grass sessions as he works his way back to fitness. “The perfect world, we get Luke McGee fit, fighting and competing for the goalkeeper spot, but we’ll have to see how things go over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
Clarke wants greater competition for Harrison, a new signing from York City who kept a clean sheet with vital saves in the opening match. “He’s had a good start, clean sheet, obviously, and he’s looking to build on his performances,” he said. He added that “getting somebody like Luke back could be a massive plus and, if not, getting some competition in the building to make sure everyone’s pushing.”
Clarke concluded that no one has been training on their own and that everyone is working hard to get into his team.
