Lee Bell says his side won't shy away from the battle as the Reds welcome Tranmere Rovers to Mornflake Stadium on New Year's Day.

The Alex have now suffered three league defeats in a row, but Bell and his management team will be looking for a positive response on Sunday January 1 2023.

He said: "I'm here and I'll drag the players along with me. We will make them improve and show those improvements to the fans.

"I had a really good feeling going into the Carlisle game and then we go concede a soft goal after six minutes. But no, there will be no hiding from anybody. We will work hard every hour of the day to try and improve it."

The Alex boss also cleared up the absence of Zac Williams who hobbled off in the 64th minute at Edgeley Park on Boxing Day, and the news on whether Connor O'Riordan would be returning from Raith Rovers.

He added: "Zac's had a scan and seen the specialist, and it is possibly the worst case scenario. He will be missing for quite some time, so we'll have to review that area as we've now had four injuries in that department.

On recalling O'Riordan, he said: "He's definitely coming back. With Zac going off injured and others being unavailable, we are going to need Connor. He's been in good form, rave reviews from Raith, and we've watched his games, so he'll be in the mix after our game with Tranmere."