Everyone expected us to lose – Pete Wild hails Tranmere after Chesterfield draw

Tranmere manager Pete Wild praised his side’s “effort and desire” as they ended their four-game losing streak with a 1-1 draw at play-off-chasing Chesterfield.

Tom Naylor gave Chesterfield a first-half lead, but Sam Finley netted Rovers’ first goal in six games to secure a point at the SMH Group Stadium.

Omari Patrick earlier had a penalty saved for Rovers.

Wild said: “I’m really pleased for everybody at the football club. The players, the staff and certainly the fans who’ve made the trip over this afternoon. I’m really pleased with the effort and desire.

“The willingness to put bodies on the line, I think you have seen that in abundance today, and we had lots of attacking intent. We had four massive chances in the opening 22 minutes and we really took it to Chesterfield today.

“I got them in after 22 minutes and said, ‘You’re doing really well, keep going, keep pushing, you are in this football match’.

“Some may disagree with this statement, but everyone had it down for a home win today, all the fans have come down here in hope more than anything. Everyone was expecting us to get beaten, so we could play freely and
express ourselves.

“We all know what it’s like when you’re at the top end of the table, the nerves that will come, so I just said go and take it to them and see where it takes us.”

Chesterfield manager Paul Cook was highly critical of his side’s performance.

He said: “I didn’t enjoy it at all. I didn’t enjoy the whole performance, our decision-making, how big we made the pitch, our lack of playing the ball forward, just everything about it.

“We got away with the penalty, then we got the goal, but then we started the second half like we had nothing to play for.

“The body language of some of our players I didn’t enjoy in a game where it means everything, winning.

“The performance probably epitomises our season, where we’ve got five games to go and, if we win all five, we go up, it’s as simple as that. Every time we get into a position where you think, come on, why not, they put on a performance like that.

“It’s tough for me because we’ll be coming out on Tuesday night and we really need the supporters.

“I understand people’s frustrations because I watch the same game and I know it’s difficult during games where it’s late in the game and they need to stick it in the box and they don’t.

“The biggest plus is that we haven’t lost the game because I didn’t enjoy us from start to finish.”