Tranmere Rovers manager Micky Mellon is delighted to see his men through to the Emirates FA Cup third-round after Sunday’s 5-1 victory over Chichester City at Prenton Park.
Rovers had to wait until after the hour mark to break the deadlock, with Morgan Ferrier’s 11-minute hat-trick either side of Corey Blackett-Taylor’s double seeing off the Isthmian League South East Division outfit.
A potential tie against a Premier League club now awaits in January, with the 20 top-flight sides also joined by 24 Sky Bet Championship teams for Monday’s draw, which will be televised on BBC Two.
Following the win in front of the BT Sport cameras, Mellon gave his thoughts to the local media.
Mellon said: “We just needed to make sure that we got through and we knew that we had to do that. We went and put in a performance and we always want to improve on it, and now we are in that third-round draw.
“We would have been expected to get the result, so I think it is important that we gave a massive amount of credit. I love football and it was great to see us go through.
“We needed to go through to the third-round, we didn’t want a replay. It is the second time in three-years, and it is massive for the finances, and it is massive for the Club.
“We know the reasons why it was important to us and we are very pleased.”
After five goals in the second-half from a combination of Ferrier and Blackett-Taylor ensured Rovers advanced in emphatic style, Mellon praised his players for their display after the break.
He added: “I said to them at half-time that they could get caught up in it. The crowd turn up here against any non-league team that comes here, you expect to score, and you become impatient if you’re not in front.
“In the second-half, we were more patient and better with the football, and hopefully the fitness and the quality came through. We got the goal and we moved on from there, that opportunity came and all credit to the boys, as we did that.
“All the players are moving in the right direction, and we are building, and the end result is to keep trying to move Tranmere forward, and we’ll continue to try and do that.”
Micky’s post-match press conference will be available on iFollow. CLICK HERE to sign up and watch!