Name: Wycombe Wanderers Football Club
Founded: 1887
Ground: Adams Park
Capacity: 9,448
Manager: Gareth Ainsworth
Last season: 17th in Sky Bet League One
Wycombe Wanderers will play their football in Sky Bet League One for the second campaign in a row come August.
The Chairboys, managed by Gareth Ainsworth, concluded their first season in the third-tier following on from promotion with a 17th placed finish.
Collecting 53 points from their 46 games, the Buckinghamshire club won 14, drew 11 and lost 21 as they remained in the division three-points and four positions above the bottom four relegation places.
Beating Fleetwood Town 1-0 at their Adams Park home on the league’s final day back in May, safety was already achieved for Wycombe as they will aim to push on under Ainsworth’s guidance in 2019/20.
Ainsworth has been in charge of Wycombe since his permanent appointment in November 2012, having previously made over 100 appearances for the side towards the end of his career.
Starting out his playing days in the youth system at hometown club Blackburn Rovers, Ainsworth would go on to represent 10 clubs over an 18-year career as a professional, playing 555 league games in total.
Ainsworth’s early time in the game saw him turn out for Northwich Victoria prior to earning his Football League opportunity with Preston North End in January 1992 before a stay at Cambridge United followed.
Returning to Preston permanently in 1993, Ainsworth’s second spell at Deepdale yielded 87 appearances in the Third, Second and First Divisions, where he became a fan favourite in Lancashire.
He left North End for a second time in 1995 to switch to Third Division Lincoln City, where he would turn out 87 times in three-years whilst plying his trade for the Imps.
Ainsworth’s career path then saw him sign for First Division Port Vale in 1997, remaining at Vale Park for a further two-years as he made 54 appearances for the Valiants.
Spending five-years in the capital at Wimbledon, Ainsworth represented the Dons in the Premier League, also spending loan time back at Preston and brief permanent stays with Cardiff City and Walsall.
In 2003, Queens Park Rangers brought Ainsworth back to London, with the midfielder remaining at Loftus Road until 2010, playing in 141 of the Hoops’ Championship outings during seven-years.
He spent the last three-years of his playing career at Wycombe Wanderers, featuring on 112 occasions before hanging up his boots in 2013, continuing on as manager of the Chairboys.
Guiding them to third place in Sky Bet League Two in 2017/18, the 46-year-old is gearing up for his eighth season at the helm.
Against Wycombe, Tranmere have won seven, drawn one and lost four of their fixtures.
Micky Mellon’s TRFC will host Wycombe at Prenton Park on Saturday 16th November and head to Adams Park on 22nd February.