Forest Green boss Steve Cotterill was delighted for the fans after his side boosted their League Two survival hopes with a 1-0 win over Tranmere.
Charlie McCann’s stunning strike was enough for 10-man Forest Green as Ryan Inniss was sent off for a second yellow card late on.
The hosts recorded their first home win since October as a Rob Apter-inspired Tranmere were unable to force a late equaliser.
“You’ve got to have the fans back in love with you,” said Cotterill. “Perhaps I can be that go-between to lift the club again. That’s what I feel it needs.”
The returning Jordan Moore-Taylor headed narrowly past his own post after a mix-up with emergency loan goalkeeper Vicente Reyes.
Apter shifted a yard of space and struck a fierce left-footed effort towards Reyes’ near post but the Norwich loanee tipped around the post.
Reyes made a superb save to deny Apter again after his strong run and effort was deflected towards the far corner but Reyes denied the winger.
Harvey Bunker forced Tranmere goalkeeper Luke McGee into a smart stop from his 20-yard effort as the hosts began to build some pressure.
McCann rounded off a fine Forest Green move with a stunning strike just before the break to send the hosts into a half-time lead.
In the second half, Apter found Harvey Saunders inside the penalty area but his right-footed effort was stopped by Reyes.
Inniss was given a second yellow in the closing stages but the hosts navigated a significant amount of Tranmere late pressure for a precious win in Gloucestershire.
“It’s nice for our supporters to see a win here, a clean sheet, and a great goal,” added Cotterill.
“We need to make it a real tough place to come. We need to keep that positivity as much as we can.”
On Inniss’ sending off, Cotterill said: “He slipped. It’s a blatant slip – you can see that. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Defeated Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins admitted: “It’s fine margins. I thought we’d have enough to go win the game but they sat back and had blocks towards the end.
“I can’t fault the players for their attitude and application. The frustration, however, is with the result.
“Lots of possession, getting the ball in the right area but we didn’t quite get the final third right.
“I know the players have given everything this week. I’m hurting because the result has gone against us.
“It’s a wonder goal to win the game for them, we’ve got into good areas, a couple of fantastic blocks. From our point of view, the application has been first-class. We just didn’t get the result today.”
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