Nigel Adkins, interim manager of Tranmere Rovers, is treating his current position as permanent as he prepares for his first game in command at Prenton Park.
Rovers return to home action on Saturday when Accrington Stanley visit Wirral, and Adkins is relishing the chance to demonstrate that he is the ideal man for the job of bringing Tranmere up the League Two table following their dismal start to the season.
Rovers were trounced 3-2 at Crawley Town last weekend, with Adkins in charge for the first time since Ian Dawes’ dismissal, leaving them 23rd in the standings with just three points from eight games.
“I hadn’t been in the dugout for a couple of years, but it felt natural to be back in there doing what I do,” Adkins, who last coached Charlton Athletic in 2021, stated.
“At pitchside, you have to quickly adjust to being at eye level, but I really enjoyed it.” You want to be a part of it – I think everyone can see I’m fairly energetic on the sidelines, which is part of it for me.
“I’m the interim manager, but I’m treating it as if I’m the manager – I think it helps everyone because there’s clarity and it removes uncertainty.” There was a manager there who had managed at all levels, so it was easy for me to step in.”
Stanley defeated Sutton United 4-1 in their last game, propelling them to ninth in the Sky Bet League Two standings, but despite Rovers’ setback, Adkins believes they will be well matched on Saturday.
“There are many things we need to improve on from Saturday, but we did well, including scoring two goals,” Adkins said.
“We’ve given up far too many goals, and we need to stop it, but we’ve gone from having a good defensive shape to intercepting and breaking, and our first goal was excellent.”
“From my perspective, right now it’s about focusing on the behaviours, standards, values, what we do when we have the ball and what we do when we don’t have the ball.”
“As for Saturday, it’s three o’clock at Prenton Park, and I’m looking forward to it.”
“It will be a tough game, and I have enormous respect for John Coleman and what he has accomplished in his managerial career at Accrington Stanley.”
“They’ve always punched above their weight and excelled at whatever they’ve done.”We know it will be a difficult game for us at times, and we expect nothing less. They can be fairly direct, so we’ll have to be excellent at set plays because they’re a large side as well, but if you stand off them and give them time, they’ll play, and they have some terrific players. They’re riding high on a wave of success.
Saturday’s encounter will also feature two Merseyside-born managers with years of experience – unsurprisingly, the two have already collided.
“When I was playing for Wigan Athletic, John came in and trained with us,” Adkins explained.
“He was banging in goals for fun on the non-league circuit, and I’ve come across him as a manager, and you know what you’re going to get – it’s going to be competitive, but we are bottom of the league, so we have to be competitive.”
