Ian Dawes is confident that his rejuvenated team can secure a third straight league victory on Saturday, as speculation about the next permanent Tranmere manager continues to go around in circles.

It is now 19 days since previous incumbent Mick Jackson was relived of his duties, but there is still not even the slightest of indications from the Prenton Park boardroom as to who will be entrusted to try and catapult Rovers back into League One.

The only constant throughout this period of uncertainly is that previously abject Tranmere have gone unbeaten in four matches, a statistic which strengthens Dawes' cause to land the job permanently if Mark Palios cannot close a suitable deal for a more experienced candidate.

Speaking on the clubs' pre-match video call press conference, he said: "Nothing's changed. I'm in constant contact with the chairman. He keeps me up to date with what's going on and where he's at with the applicants and the job.

"All I can do is focus the players and this team and prepare them to go and win a game of football."

Working in such unstable conditions would be challenging for most, but it is clear that Dawes is thriving off it and growing with every positive result that his team collects.

He said: "(We're on a) good run of form and a good run of results, so we can't complain at the moment. The players are playing really well and they're a joy to watch.

"The performance is important and the entertainment is great, but we're just concerned about winning games. The more we perform, the more we play well together as a team. We know the results will be there.

"Everyone is in a good place at the moment and training has got a buzz about it. The lads are really eager to get Saturday's game started. I think we're all looking forward to it."

Rovers embark on a run of three home games in a week, starting on Saturday against Grimsby Town, who under the charismatic Ian Holloway, currently lie five places below Tranmere in the League Two table, but with a couple of games in hand.

Dawes said: "He's had a great career and he's continuing to do well at Grimsby. They've got a typical Holloway style of football, so we know the game won't be easy but we know that if we keep performing and having the application that we done in the last few games, we're confident that we can win the game.

"We're not really looking at where the opposition are in the table at the moment. It's more about what we do, what we're capable of doing and what we plan to do moving forward."

Tranmere's early season injury and coronavirus problems appear to be well behind them.

Midfielder Paul Lewis has recovered from a hamstring issue and has trained all week to declare himself available for selection.

Goalkeeper Joe Murphy has recovered from illness with a Covid-19 test returning as negative.

One player who will miss out this weekend is Liam Ridehalgh, who still has a groin injury. However, the problem is not as serious as first feared and he is also expected to be back in training as early as next week.

With Morgan Ferrier, who came on as a substitute in the epic match against Port Vale last Saturday, not suffering any ill effects from his impact performance, Dawes has an array of talent at this disposal and difficult decisions to make.

He added: "At the start of the season we were scratching around for players, now we're going to have to leave quality players in the stand on Saturday. It's a good position to be in."

Tranmere Rovers v Grimsby Town kicks of at 3pm on Saturday, November 21 at Prenton Park. Follow the action with the Globe's live match blog.