Sam Finley is relishing the prospect of raising his game when high-flying MK Dons arrive at Prenton Park on Saturday.
The Dons currently sit in an automatic promotion position, 13 places and nine points above Tranmere but Finley doesn’t see this as a defining factor.
The Liverpudlian believes he raises his level for fixtures against higher opposition and has encouraged his teammates to follow suit.
He said: “I think for me personally when you’re playing against the teams that are up there at the top of the table, I always feel like I rise to the occasion and hopefully we as a team can rise to the occasion tomorrow.
“I’m looking forward to the game. I think these are the games we usually perform in. We perform when there’s not as much expected from us.”
Finley has regained his starting place in recent weeks after returning from a 13 game ban for making a homophobic comment to an opposition player.
He revealed he has also been carrying an injury but has started seven of the last eight games despite feeling like he is not at his very best.
He said: “It’s been tough with the injury I had at the end of last season. Having to come back from injury is new to me, it’s the first time I’ve been injured for that length of time and had to have surgery done.
“I’m still getting back up to speed fitness wise. I don’t think I’m anywhere near as match-sharp as I need to be but I’m enjoying being back involved and helping the team as much as I can.”
Tranmere have endured a mixed start to the season, sitting in 16th place after 16 games. A dramatic 3-2 win against Cheltenham last time out, however, gives the Super White Army the chance to build some much needed momentum against MK Dons.
Finley said: “I think everyone is looking for consistency. We have the second most amount of draws in the league so turning those into wins will catapult us up the table.
“Two wins can get you right up the table and two defeats gets you right down towards the bottom. If we can improve our home form and build on our last two results then we can start looking up rather than down.”
Rovers have struggled at home this season, only accumulating 10 points from eight games on the Wirral.
Despite this, Finley hopes that they can begin to make full use of home advantage ahead of a busy Christmas schedule.
He said: “Being at home is so important because you have the fans behind you.
“Even though they do travel brilliantly away from home, it’s different playing at Prenton Park and we need to make it a fortress which I don’t think we’ve done this season so far.
“Once you get past the Christmas stage you start to see where teams are really at. I think with the fans behind us there’s no limit to where we can finish this season.”
