TRANMERE boss Micky Mellon said there is still much room for squad improvement in the season's remaining 19 games.

During a press conference at the club's Solar Campus training ground in Leasowe ahead of Saturday's home game against Swindon Town, Mellon reflected on what had been a busy month for the side, which has seen a number of players leave and new signings.

He added that bringing 'real quality' into the squad would be key to success at the end of the current campaign.

Rovers secured their first win of 2019 with a 3-1 victory at Cheltenham Town last Saturday and are currently seventh on the League Two table.

Looking ahead to this weekend's match, Mellon told the Globe: "All the games are massive now, which is great.

"It's good that, so far, we've been able to bring players in that, we believe, are the type that we need in order to give us a good chance of winning games of football.

"We have to remember that if somebody had offered us 19 massive games at the start of the season, we'd have bitten your hand off, especially being at the positive end of the table.

"We believed in the players at the start of the season, but nobody could tell where we were going to be.

"I'm excited and really happy to be at the right end of the table, getting towards the business end of the season and we're in among it.

"So, every credit to the players, but there are still 19 games to go and Tranmere should be competing in big games all the time, certainly at this level.

"A club the size of Tranmere should be competing at the top end and I’m really pleased that we are up there, but I’m not getting carried away.

"I'm just really pleased that we've got some tough games that are going to really mean something."

Players who have left Prenton Park in the last week include striker Franklyn Akammadu, who returned to his parent club US Alessandria this week after cutting short his loan period at Prenton Park.

Midfielders Ryan Williams and Larnell Cole have also said goodbye.

Defender Ritchie Sutton has signed a permanent contract with fellow League Two side Morecambe.

Newcomers midfielder Harvey Gilmour and former Premier League striker Ishmael Miller have penned permanent contracts with Rovers.

Gilmour is at Prenton Park until the end of the 2019/20 season, whilst Miller has signed until the end of the current campaign.

On the recent activity Mellon said: "We're still very active and mindful that we want to bring real quality into the group and are working very hard to do that."

"Other clubs are doing the same as us and they have seen some of our players that, maybe, aren’t getting as much first team football as they need and have seen a need for that type of player. That's the way the transfer market works."

Looking ahead, Mellon said: "We have a plan in place for how we want to do things, what we would like, and we know that there 19 games left until the end of the season and want to make sure that we are very competitive.

"We also have an eye on the bigger picture as well and so we have an eye on the younger players for our long-term plan, the like of young Harvey (Gilmour).

"We're working very hard to make sure we keep pushing Tranmere forward.

"The club's very, very well run and we’d never put it in jeopardy.

"But we will have the opportunity, if good players become available and they are the right types for what we want to do and are in the recruitment pool, to bring them in.

"That doesn't mean to say we'll blow money for the sake of it, because it's very hard to come by, but we would have the ability to bring in good players if they become available."