LES Parry is preparing an injury-hit Tranmere Rovers for this weekend's opening home game of the n-power League One season against Oldham.

The Saturday afternoon fixture, which starts at 3pm, is expected to draw one of Prenton Park’s biggest crowds of the season.

But it is not without its headaches for Parry, because a few players look set to be missing from the squad, because of injury.

On the casualty list are midfielder Josh Labadie, centre-backs Marlon Broomes and Ian Goodison, Alan Mahon, Paul McLaren, Ash Taylor and Dutch striker Tim Cathalina.

Parry hopes some of the injured will be in training by the end of the week and is looking at bringing in other players.

He told Globe Sport: "We are struggling to put a side out and it's something we've always feared, but hoped it wouldn't happen this early in the season.

"It's something we feared, because we're only a small squad so it doesn't take that many injuries to cause us problems.

"We've got some problems with some injuries. If we can rest Ian until Thursday, he should be fine for Saturday. Paul McLaren doesn't look too serious, so he should be okay.

"Oldham is always going to be one of our biggest games of the season.

"It doesn't matter when we play them, it's always going to be a massive game and one of our biggest crowds, because it's only up the road.

"So for it to be the first game of the season to be here, they've got a new manager and a lot of new players, they're going to have the same expectations as every club's fans."

Parry said he was looking at bringing players in to bridge the gap for Saturday's game, but admitted: "I don’t want to put too much hope on that, because these things have a habit of not coming off."

Parry took over as manager following the departure of John Barnes in October and was officially appointed in June.

Looking forward to his first full season in charge, he said: "It's been a difficult pre-season. When you take on the role, you don’t appreciate how much work goes on behind the scenes.

"The fans wouldn't appreciate that I must have taken 500 calls from agents in that time, trying to get people in, gambling with who you’re trying to get.

"That all takes a lot of time. It's also about making sure the players you have already got are right. It's been a really challenging six weeks."

Asked whether his own management style will change, he ended: "I don't think I'll be much different in the way that I do things, but the pressures will be different, simply because I had nothing to lose last year.

"Had we gone down, we wouldn't have taken much of the blame for it.

"This year the fans will look at it that it's our team. With that in mind, it actually brings on more pressure than last season."