Tranmere sensation vying with Liverpool stars for top prize as Rovers aim becomes clear

Anya McCready is winning plenty of plaudits for her superb displays for Tranmere Rovers

Missy Bo Kearns. Ceri Holland. Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw.

All of the above are, unsurprisingly, among the nominees for the top prizes at this year's Northwest Football Awards (NWFA), having enjoyed impressive individual campaigns in the Women's Super League (WSL) last term. But named alongside that crop of top flight stars is Anya McCready.

The 18-year-old is currently plying her trade for Tranmere Rovers in the fifth tier of the women's game. But her impressive displays for Sam Irvine's side have been making waves across Merseyside and beyond.

"Everybody at the club is over the moon for her," manager Irvine said. "She’s a really humble young girl and great to work with.

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"She’s only 18 so to be nominated for an award and in the mix with some of those names at this stage in her career is massive for her. She’s still got a long way to go and she’s only going to get better."

Mccready, who is nominated for Women's Player of the season and The Athletic's Women Rising star at the NWFA, joined Tranmere at the age of seven and harbours ambitions of one day becoming a club legend.

“There’s a real togetherness within this team," the young midfielder told the ECHO earlier this year. "It took some time to find that connection but now we’ve gelled so well and being around some of the older girls is really inspiring. Our captain, Lindsey [Smith], has been there since she was a kid and I’d love to do the same.”

Mccready's rise from academy youngster to first-team mainstay is very much reflective of the culture shift that has happened at Tranmere since Irvine was appointed manager ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. "We decided pretty early on we were going to make some changes in terms of the squad," the Rovers boss said.

"A few players went out and we promoted quite a few of our development team players. After Christmas, results picked up again and we went on to win the County Cup and finished the season really strong."

After finishing last season with a flourish, Irvine and his staff came into the new campaign with one clear objective: win promotion. "That's the main aim but to get promoted from our league you have to be champions," Irvine said.

"You have to be pretty perfect and there’s probably about five or six teams in the league that will be competing for that. It’s a bit cliched but we’ll take it a game at the time. We’ve got a really young squad so they’ve still got things to learn but what they’ve done in the past few months will give them confidence for the rest of the season."

One of Tranmere's biggest sources of confidence this term will likely stem from their victory in the inaugural Women's Super Cup last month. A brace from captain Smith saw Rovers topple Cheadle Town Stingers at the Joie Stadium - home to Manchester City Women - to claim their first silverware of the campaign.

"That was amazing," Irvine reflected. "The experience of it all was out of this world. To play at Manchester City’s facility and for the players to use those changing rooms and the pitch it was obviously fantastic for us.

"To win it was the icing on the cake, especially considering it’s the first time the competition has been played. It’s nice our name is the first on the trophy."

Of course, there's still a lot of football to be played before is becomes clear whether Tranmere have what it takes to get their hands on the prize they covet most this season. McCready, though, doesn't have long to wait before her fate is determined, with the NWFA set to take place in Manchester on November 6.

Whatever the outcome, to even be nominated alongside some of the game's most esteemed stars is a testament to the teenager's talent and reflective of the growing profile of the wider women's football pyramid.

"It’s vitally important people support the wider football pyramid," Irvine said. "We’ve seen that support and media coverage increase the past couple of years. Even at the start of this season we’ve seen the crowds have been a bit heftier and when we played at Prenton Park last year we got a good crowd.

"The game is growing and it’s up to us to keep banging the drum and keeping people interested. The quality is growing too which is important because if people are coming down and watching quality football, they’re more likely to come back again.

"Everyone at this level is still voluntary and we all have real jobs and real lives. Sometimes it feels like a full time job but the commitment is just fantastic. It’s one of those clubs that has a real family feel to it."