Curran return will provide vital firepower

Jan 14 2009 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Daily Post

CHRIS SHUKER reckons his young team-mate Craig Curran could be reaching the end of the comeback trail at just the right time to aid Tranmere’s promotion-chasing ambitions.

Curran is about to resume full-time training with Rovers after being sidelined for the best part of four months with a back problem.

The 19-year-old may be pushing for a first-team recall by the end of the month.

Rovers are looking to increase their firepower at a time when Chris Greenacre, the club’s leading goalscorer in each last three seasons, is consigned to the sidelines with damaged ligaments in his foot.

Shuker said: “Losing Chris at this time is a blow. He’s such a valuable player for the team with his ability to hold the ball up – and his goalscoring record is excellent. It is unfortunate for Chris that he picked up this injury just as he was getting back into the side.

“But Craig Curran is coming back to fitness now. He’s a similar type of player to Chris and we could do with having one of them ready to go into the side.

“Craig had a frustrating time with injury this season, as I did last year. You’ve just got to deal with it.”

Shuker added: “So far we have not been hit as hard by injuries as we were last season. We are a small squad but we do have players who can adapt to playing more than one role for the team.”

Shuker says he is delighted the squad is back at work on the Raby training ground this week after a fortnight of freezing temperatures around the turn of the year forced Rovers onto all-weather pitches and indoor sports halls.

He said: “We were training all over the place, on Astro-turf too, that was still frozen and indoor pitches that were as hard as nails.”

Now that Rovers are able to train normally once more, the priority for manager Ronnie Moore and his coaching staff is to work on ways to improve the away form and increase the team’s goal supply.

A visit to Millwall on Saturday is a tough place to start. Kenny Jackett’s team have lost just once in 12 League One games at the New Den and outplayed Tranmere in a 3-1 victory at Prenton Park in October.

Moore said: “This is going to be a difficult game but I’m looking forward to it. Kenny Jackett has got himself a good squad of players and they are well organised and very disciplined.

“They are the best side we have played this season on the basis of their win at Prenton Park – although we did not perform well that day.

“They have a 4-4-2 system and keep the two banks of four. They are difficult to break down and counter-attack with pace. We know what to expect.”

The onus for scoring those extra goals falls not just on striker Bas Savage, who has often ploughed a lone furrow up front this season, but on the midfield players as well, Moore insists.

When Tranmere last visited the New Den, in April of last season, Savage was in the middle of a brief stay with the Lions.

Moore said: “Kenny Jackett did not really want to let Bas go but they could not agree on some things down there we were lucky enough to bring him into Prenton Park in the summer.

“Bas has is the well for us but I would like to see a few more moonwalk goal celebrations from him.”