Crawley sacked head coach Colin Kazim-Richards this week with the side five points adrift at the bottom of League Two - the Red Devils have won just once in the league all season.

Former Leeds United and Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell has been appointed as interim head coach but the 67-year-old has not held a managerial role in England since being sacked by Bury in October 2013.

Tranmere, meanwhile, recorded their first away win of the season at Northampton and Clarke said he now hoped his side could build on the hard-fought 1-0 victory.

"The first 20 minutes were an uncomfortable watch and they stated really well," said Clarke. "But we rode the storm and got a bit of a foothold in the game and got a great goal from a set piece and then sat in and did a job.

"It wasn't a comfortable watch but the lads defended superbly and put their bodies on the line and we take the three points and move on."

Tranmere have made a habit this season of conceding leads late on and Tuesday's win marked an important improvement, according to Clarke.

"When you're under stress in games you have to be able to handle that," he said. "We haven't done that too well on occasion so hopefully this will give the boys plenty of confidence and shows that we can defend well.

"I'm pleased to get a clean sheet and pleased for the boys after a long journey down there."

The win leaves Tranmere in 13th place in League Two but in a tight table they are just two points off the play off places.

"It's pretty even and competitive but I don't get bogged down with league tables at this point in the season and it's more about performances and putting building blocks in place," said Clarke. "We keep working with the boys, tactically, physically and mentally to keep trying to push performances each week."

As for Crawley and their issues, Clarke said he was concentrating on his own squad and not thinking too much about the threat the wounded side might pose.

"I'm not really fussed who we're playing next," he said. "We just have to focus on the next game and we're trying to drive a football club forward - you do that by winning the next game.

"There's no point second guessing and we'll just focus on ourselves and try and get the three points. We're preparing right and we're getting down there on Friday to get our rest and recovery and hopefully we can try and put on a performance and get the win.

"We won't be doing too much work on Crawley and second guessing what they're about, the focus is on ourselves."

Rovers goalkeeper Luke McGee put in a superb performance on Tuesday night with Tranmere fans welcoming his return between the sticks.

"Luke made a really great save early on along with his talking and communication and it was nice to have him back," added Clarke. "I keep saying that we've got three keepers who are all fighting for the number one jersey and they all add something a little bit different.

"Luke is a great lad and he'll have enjoyed that performance."