Carlisle United ace David Raven desperate to beat Tranmere
Last updated 12:52, Thursday, 02 October 2008
Former Tranmere ace David Raven is desperate for a change of fortune against his home-town club this weekend as Carlisle United bid to stop the rot.
Wirral-born defender Raven had a miserable time against Rovers last season when Ronnie Moore’s men did the double over the Cumbrians.
And the right-back, who enjoyed a loan spell at Tranmere before his 2006 move to Brunton Park, says they would be the perfect opponents for United to end their three-game losing run.
“There’s always a bit extra on it for me when we play Tranmere,” said Raven, who was once a season-ticket holder at Prenton Park.
“I’ve got a few mates coming up for it and it would be nice to beat them for a change.
“The 2-0 defeat down there last season wasn’t the best of games. It was one of those days when things go completely wrong and you don’t really know why.
“But past games don’t count for anything – we just need to crack on and get back up the table now.”
Raven, 23, has featured in an unusually generous Carlisle defence of late, the Blues having shipped two goals in each of their last three outings, and 12 in their opening eight League One fixtures.
The United back line suffered a further blow last night with the news that Peter Murphy’s knee ligament injury is going to keep him out for at least another two weeks.
But Raven said the whole team need to tighten up against 13th-placed Rovers – not just the defenders and goalkeeper Ben Williams.
“It’s the defending as a whole – the midfielders and strikers as much as the back four and goalkeeper,” said the former Liverpool youngster.
“Most of the game at Walsall last weekend we didn’t perform. I wasn’t at my best and I think most of the lads would say that about themselves. We know we need to get back to basics and that’s what we’re doing in training. We just need to make sure games like last weekend’s don’t come around too often.”
United need a victory at Brunton Park this Saturday to ensure they don’t lose touch with the division’s early pace-setters and to avoid drifting towards mid-table.
And Raven added: “We had a cracking start and we knew we needed it, because this run of games always looked tough. We were right to think that but we just need to kick on now.
“The fans are massively important to us and we’ll need them on Saturday. They’ve helped us come from behind in so many games in the past, and sometimes we probably don’t appreciate how important that can be.”
