Old boy Alex relishing Rovers meeting
Tuesday 16th, 2010
By Alex James

Not many Rovers fans paid much attention to the quarter final draw for the Liverpool Senior Cup.  But one Tranmere fan had a keen eye on the outcome, and is now plotting Rovers’ exit from a competition they last won in 1995.

Cammell Laird manager - and former Tranmere striker - Alex Hay used to be a season ticket holder at Prenton Park watching his boyhood heroes from the Kop before going on to make 55 appearances for Rovers.

Thursday’s Quarter Final between the two sides will be the biggest test of Hay’s fledgling managerial career at the UniBond League One South division club.

“I only took over in November and I think we’ve played 16 games altogether and I’ve only lost one league game,” said Hay.

“We were struggling a bit when I came in but we’ve got a lot of games in hand on other clubs.”

Lairds currently sit 14th in the league and enjoyed a 3-0 away win at Market Drayton Town on Tuesday night to continue their impressive mid-season revival.

Hay added: “We started really well but had a long winter break with so many games being cancelled and have struggled a bit since then.

“The last few weeks have been really tough, we’ve been drawing too many games when we should have been winning them and I haven’t got any finances to bring in any players so it has been a case of making do with what we’ve got.

“But take nothing away from the players. They’ve been fantastic, they’ve given their all in every game and I can’t ask for more than that.

“People perhaps don’t appreciate how much the players put into the club. We have to travel along way for away games because we’re in a southern division – the other week we travelled for three hours to a game which was called off when we got there.

“We didn’t get back until 11pm and we haven’t even played. The lads have had to take time off work to come and play so that side of things is difficult.”

Hay has had to adjust to life in the lower reaches of football after a career which also took in a fruitful spell at Rushden & Diamonds as well as spells in the League of Wales before he arrived at Lairds.

With crowds in the UniBond league regularly dipping below 100 it is a far cry from his time at Prenton Park, which he so fondly recalls.

“I’ve been a Tranmere fan all my life and used to have a season ticket before I joined them so to end up playing 55 games for them was a dream come true,” he added.

“I scored my first goal away at Mansfield and that put us 1-0 up at half time.

“I remember being in the dressing room and just wanting to text everybody I knew to tell them I’d scored it meant that much to me - we ended up losing the game 6-1 though.

“I also scored against Northampton in front of the Kop and that was such a special moment for me.

“I remember every minute of every game I played for Tranmere and to score in front of the home end was just a dream come true.

“I probably had my best run under Ray Mathias when I was in the team quite a lot. After that Brian Little came in and I was more of a bit-part player. I was on the bench a lot and I was playing in different positions, up front, wide left, wide right, I think that hindered me a little bit because I was an out and out striker but I would have played in goal for Tranmere it meant that much to me!

“I loved playing for Tranmere and we had some good times - we reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup and did well in the league.

“After I left Tranmere I went and played for Rushden & Diamonds for a bit and then went to play in the League of Wales. I had other offers to stay in English football but I was offered food money and I decided that that was the way I had to go.”

Hay still turns out for Lairds, after all at only 28 he is one of the youngest managers in the country.  And another Tranmere old boy is also plying his trade at Lairds’ Kirklands Stadium.

Kenny Irons, who made nearly 400 appearances for Rovers during the ‘90s, is Hay’s assistant manager and despite being 39 he still pulls on his boots when called upon.

Against Market Drayton Town on Tuesday night he came off the bench for the final 10 minutes with the game already won.

And although his legs might not carry him as far as they once did, his control and vision is still evident.

Hay said: “I contacted Kenny and asked him to come as my assistant.

“I used to clean his boots at Tranmere so I knew him through that and he has been a great help to me. I’m also using Warwick Rimmer as a football advisor.

ted at Tranmere at the age of 10 and he’s been the best coach I ever worked with so having someone like him who knows the game so well is really useful.

“He knows the area and he knows the players, he’s still involved at Tranmere as Youth Development Officer so I am just using him for advice.”

Hay adds the relationship between the two clubs has been helped by Les Parry’s appointment as manager.
“I had a long chat with Les the other day and I know Shaun Garnett and Wayne Alison so it is good to have those connections, said Hay.

“We’ve got a good relationship with Tranmere. I went to watch the reserves play last week and there are a couple of players I’d like to take out on loan but we’ll have to see where that goes.

“We’re playing them next week and hopefully they will send out a strong team.

“I’m hoping that a few of the players on the fringe of their first team will come and play. “It will be a great opportunity for our lads. We will just enjoy the occasion because it’s just great to be playing a club like Tranmere and being able to test ourselves against them.”

Hay is combining his player-manager role with a degree as he looks to ensure himself an income after the game.
He said: “I’m doing a sports science degree at Hope University in Liverpool which I’ve been doing for a year and a half and I really enjoy it.

“I enjoy looking at the mental side of things and it’s something which can help me after football and also helps me as a coach and a manager as well.”

Thursday’s game kicks off at 7.15pm at Lairds’ Kirklands Stadium.