MICKY Adams says he has taken a back-to-basics approach as he fights to keep Tranmere Rovers in League Two.

The manager was speaking during a press conference at Prenton Park this afternoon ahead of their match against tenth-on-the-table Northampton this weekend.

Rovers fell into the relegation places after being beaten by Dagenham and Redbdrige in a high-scoring encounter at Prenton Park.

The squad are now 23rd in the league with 34 points, swapping positions with Cheltenham who drew 1-1 with Mansfield.

With six defeats out of their last eight, Adams is 'fully confident' he can lift the squad out of the bottom two.

He said this afternoon: "It's been a useful week, back-to-basics in many respects and reminding the players of their roles and responsibilities on the pitch.

“There have been a few players who have not been around for a while, which has made things a little difficult, but we’ve done enough and are ready for another game.

“We can all analyse the goals that we conceded last week, but they were three errors.

“But it’s about people knowing their jobs and heeding the warnings. I could go through all three goals, but it won’t do any good because they’ve gone.

“So, we've gone back to basics, learning from the mistakes we’ve and wanting to be better.

“The players are under pressure and what I’ve got to try to do is take that pressure away and let them concentrate on their job. I’ll deal with the pressure.

“I want them to forget all the madness that’s going on around them, just concentrate on doing their job. If they do that, they will be fine.

“I’ll fight for this football club to retain its status.

“We can’t have shrinking violets, we need people who can deal with the ball.”

Using this weekend's opponents as an example of how club performances can be turned around, he continued: “If there’s a lesson to be learnt, why can’t we learn it off Northampton?

“When Chris Wilder came here just before the New Year, they lost against us, and that was I think five or six on the spin.

“He was down in the mouth like I was last Saturday. Him and his team have responded and they’ve gone on to have a fantastic run and are on the verge of the play-offs now.

“So, that’s what can be achieved. If you look at the first 20 games of my tenure at the club, at this point in time it’s not going well and I have to accept responsibility for that.

“Nobody enjoys the situation that we’re in, but it is what it is and we’ve got to move on.”