Keith Hill believes football needs to do more to protect the wellbeing of team managers and leapt to the defence of fellow peers including Jurgen Klopp.

The Tranmere boss was speaking in an online pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of his former employers Bolton Wanderers, who are an old foe of the Prenton Park club.

Rovers registered an impressive 3-2 victory against Forest Green on Tuesday evening but have only won two of their last six league games.

When asked how his side can build on the midweek win to find consistency in the league, Hill took the opportunity to offload his thoughts on the pressures of short-termism that managers are currently working under.

He said: "We are in transition as a football club, there's no question about that. We are on an upward curve. We want back-to-back victories, but that's not going to determine our season. I just want performances.

"If you want to keep putting the manager under pressure, or managers up and down the country - listening to Talk Sport this morning - I'm not sure if they were genuine Liverpool supporters or not, but there were supporters asking for Jurgen Klopp to be changed - he's taken them as far as he can?

"What is happening in modern day society when we're putting someone like Jurgen Klopp under pressure, who hasn't lost a home game for three years?

"They've got one of the best managers in the world and he's lost one game. It might be time for a change. Where's the perspective and reality there?

"I'm trying to build here. I'm happy to keep going from game-to-game looking for and insisting on an identity to the way that I want (us) to play.

"If we get that on a regular basis, I know that we are going to get positive results.

"Everyone blames everything on the manager if things go wrong. I personally feel like there should be more support for managers and their wellbeing, whether it's Premier League managers or National League and non-league managers.

"I watched Monday night football with Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville and they were constantly talking about whether Steve Bruce should be kept in position.

"I think it's getting quite offensive now, the amount of times we're focusing on a manager's position at a football club."

When asked whether that situation had been made worse by the national lockdowns and football's reliance on a social media bubble, he said: "Sorry I didn't understand what you said there. You mentioned the word social media and that's new to me."

Regardless of Tranmere's recent patchy league form, they go into Saturday's clash with Bolton unbeaten in three matches in all competitions and will be installed as favourites to come out on top against 17th-placed Wanderers, who are without a win in five matches.

Hill confirmed that he will have roughly the same squad to choose from as he did against Forest Green, with Liam Ridehalgh still recovering from a rib injury and other players missing with coronavirus.

He does now however have an extra player at his disposal after the club announced on Friday evening that Crystal Palace midfielder Nya Kirby has joined on loan until the end of the season.

It has not been made clear yet whether the 20-year-old is eligible for selection against Bolton.

Tranmere Rovers v Bolton Wanders kicks off at 3pm on Saturday, January 23. Follow the Globe's live match blog from Prenton Park.