Tranmere Rovers appoint interim boss as manager on a full-time basis before Cobblers game

Tranmere Rovers have appointed interim manager Ian Dawes on a full-time basis ahead of Monday’s final day clash against promotion-chasing Northampton.

Dawes stepped up as caretaker boss for the third time in March after Micky Mellon was sacked. He has overseen two wins in eight games so far, with Tranmere currently 11th in League Two.

The club said in a statement that they ‘considered several highly qualified candidates’ for the role but appointed Dawes for his ‘coaching ability and knowledge of the playing squad and the staff’.

“It’s an honour to be appointed manager of Tranmere Rovers,” said Dawes. “Having already had three interim spells, I’m now ready to take control of the team and implement my own style and ideas.

“It’s an opportunity I’m relishing and I want to reassure the fans that I personally hate failure and would not have taken the job unless I was confident of bringing success to the club.

“I know it is equally important to win games as it is to develop players. Every player that steps foot onto that pitch has to play for the badge and make the fans and the club proud and this is one of the key messages I will be implementing.

“With the players we have under contract, the re-signing of a few and adding the right players and balance to improve the squad, I believe we can see an improvement and get back to having something to play for come the end of the season at the positive end of the table.”

Tranmere chairman Mark Palios added: "We have moved away from appointing experienced managers who have spent years on the managerial merry-go-round and who come and go with their own supporting staff because, each time one departs, the club they leave effectively has to start rebuilding its support staff and systems from scratch.

“A successful team needs a good manager, but it is equally important to get the recruitment and development right, so it is our intention to bring in an experienced Technical Director who will work alongside Ian Dawes and ensure that our recruitment and development systems are the best they can be, and that we get the balance right between the medium term aim of developing players, and the short term imperative of winning games, which is what we all want.”