Football Insight: Tranmere v Mansfield

Kane Hemmings: Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere's leading scorer with 8 games throughout the season for ‘Rovers’.

After his arrival at Prenton Park from Burton Albion in January 2022, he was slow off the mark but finally hit form, notching up 7 strikes in the run-in to the back-end of last season. He's continued his goal-scoring prowess this season, netting 8 times and has been ever-present for Micky Mellon up-front.

Hemmings' recent form in-front of goal has been partially clinical, netting 4 in Tranmere's last 8 encounters, with his most recent strike a penalty in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Stockport County – the spot-kick brought the game level at 1-1.

The forward needs to find a consistent run of form in front of goal and Saturday presents him with a great opportunity.

Will Swan (Mansfield Town)

Mansfield’s most clinical front-man, Will Swan, has netted nine times in 25 appearances.

The forward, who joined the Stags from Nottingham Forest on-loan in the summer, has impressed for Mansfield when played and have proved to be a nuisance for many defences.

Swan is currently having a dry spell in front of goals and his minutes of late have dwindled, but a goal tomorrow would give the 22 year old an abundance of confidence and could see him return to his goal-scoring form.

Regan Hendry (Tranmere Rovers)

After making a stark impression on his new fans and manager, Hendry will be one to watch for Rovers on Saturday.

A stalwart in Forest Green Rovers’ title winning campaign in League Two, he is rich in fourth tier experience and is known for helping squads in being promoted, like he did last season, he will hope to ignite Tranmere’s serge towards League Two.

In his opening two displays - a cameo appearance off the bench against Stockport and his first start against Doncaster - he has made fans wax lyrical about their new Scot, bringing a new breath of life in the engine tank and more of the same will be beneficial for Tranmere towards the tail end of the campaign.

Danny Johnson (Mansfield Town)

With Tranmere’s defence being shaky as of late, they will have a tough job on their hands with the former Rovers striker, Danny Johnson.

Johnson is the fourth top scorer in League Two, netting 12 times in 23 games and has helped Walsall, when on loan at the Saddlers, to progress to the FA Cup fourth round, netting the first in their 2-1 win over Stockport County.

He has scored against Tranmere this season, netting the opener for Walsall in their 1-1 draw at Prenton Park a few weeks back, a feat he will want to replicate on Saturday.

Micky Mellon (Tranmere Rovers)

Scottish manager Micky Mellon is into his second spell as Tranmere Rovers manager, and is under pressure as a barren run of results has seen the fans turn against their manager.

After leaving Sunny Scotland for the Wonderful Wirral in 2021, he was on course to take Tranmere back to League One after being in the promotion places for most of last campaign, but a poor string of results saw Rovers slipped out of promotion and even out of the play-offs, ending 9th.

This season was meant to be another push of igniting Tranmere's promotion push and after many topsy turvy runs – 3 wins in 18 games and a 5 game winning streak to name a few – has seen the Super White Army slip into mid-table mediocrity and questionable tactics and inability to chalk up three points in crucial encounters has seen for his head to be called on several occasions. A positive, the league looks that compact that three points could see them realistically touching 7th spot, so a run of form is mandatory for Tranmere if their aims are promotion.

Nigel Clough (Mansfield Town)

A man who’s changed around Mansfield’s fortunes when they largely struggled before he was appointed, Clough has a task on his hand to reinstate Mansfield’s third-tier status for the first time in 20 years.

The son of footballing legend Brian Clough, Nigel is rich with Football League experience as a player and a manager and, after retiring from football in 2008, while a player/manager at Burton, Clough has had stints at Derby County, Sheffield United, a second spell at Burton before joining Mansfield in 2020.

He’s propelled the club as close as they’ve been to returning to League One as they lost in last season’s play-off final and now has the club challenging near the top end of the table again.