Now 32, Mellon was released at the end of the season and joined League Two Kidderminster on 1 August 2004 on a two-year contract. Unfortunately he picked up Achilles injury and left by mutual consent on 8 December 2004 after managing to play only eight games. He moved back north to sign for Northern Premier League Witton Albion in February 2005, and it was here that Mellon made the move into coaching. On 29 June 2006 Mellon was named assistant manager of Conference North side Lancaster City where his manager from Witton Gary Finley had been appointed. Their stay was to be short, as they were sacked as an economy measure on 10 October 2006.
In the summer of 2007 Mellon joined former club Burnley as a coach at their Centre of Excellence, working primarily with the U15 and U16 teams. While still working for Burnley, Mellon was appointed manager of Fleetwood Town on 22 September 2008 on a part-time basis. Fleetwood had just been promoted to Conference North but were struggling at the bottom after taking just six points from their opening ten games. Mellon sparked an immediate revival and became their first ever full-time manager on 8 January 2009. The run of form continued to the end of the season with a very unlikely eighth place, and the club also reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
The 2009-10 season saw Fleetwood engage in a season-long battle for the title with neighbours Southport. The expiry of Farsley Celtic before the end of the season left Fleetwood three points worse off than Southport, and an unsuccessful appeal against the decision meant a place in the playoffs. A 4-3 penalty shootout win over Droylsden took Fleetwood to the final where a 2-1 win over Alfreton carried them into the Conference Premier for the first time. It was also Mellon’s first promotion as a manager, and his fourth in total. The decision was taken during the summer to go full-time, and it paid immediate dividends. Their first season in non-league’s top division went very well, with another playoff campaign after finishing fifth. It was too much too early though, as Fleetwood went down 8-1 on aggregate to eventual promotion-winners AFC Wimbledon.
There was to be no repeat in 2010-11 as Jamie Vardy’s thirty-one goals fired Fleetwood into the Football League with a massive 103 points. A twenty-nine game unbeaten run gave them the title with two games to spare, and they also reached the third round of the FA Cup. Mellon had his fifth promotion, and his second as a manager. At the end of the season, Vardy moved to Leicester for a non-league record of £1m (rising to an eventual £1.7 million). Despite getting away to a very promising start in League Two, Mellon was sacked on 1 December 2012 with Fleetwood in fourth place. Further to some indifferent form, Mellon was rumoured to have applied for vacancies at former clubs Blackpool and Burnley, and Fleetwood decided to make the change. It was very much a case of being careful what you wish for: Fleetwood slipped down the table after his departure to finish thirteenth.
Mellon was out of a job for a matter of days, joining the Championship’s bottom side Barnsley as assistant to caretaker manager David Flitcroft at the end of December. Despite losing their first game, Flitcroft and Mellon were appointed to their roles on a permanent basis on 13 January 2013. An immediate improvement in form saw Barnsley win five and draw one of their next six games, but they went into the final game of the season at Huddersfield still in danger of relegation. Huddersfield were also at risk, but a 2-2 draw proved enough to keep both clubs up. Peterborough conceded two goals in the last seven minutes to lose at Crystal Palace, and Barnsley survived by a point. Flitcroft and Mellon agreed new contracts at the end of the season, and in October Barnsley rejected two approaches for Mellon from Forest Green. Things were not so good on the pitch, and Flitcroft was sacked on 30 November 2013 with Barnsley bottom of the Championship. Mellon initially stayed on as a coach under new manager Danny Wilson, but parted company with them by mutual consent on 19 March 2014.
Two months later he was back in management, appointed by Shrewsbury Town on 12 May 2014 on a one-year rolling contract. Shrewsbury had just been relegated to League Two, and Mellon made wholesale changes to the squad. It paid off instantly, as Shrewsbury started the season very well and also reached the fourth round of the League Cup before going down 2-1 at home to Chelsea. Promotion was never in doubt, and Shrewsbury retook their place in League One after finishing second. It was the sixth promotion of Mellon’s career, and his third as a manager. Life back in League One proved much more challenging, and Shrewsbury took six games to get their first win. A good run through February and March appeared to have lifted them to safety, but a dip in form saw them avoid relegation by just four points. Compensation came in the form of a run to the fifth round of the FA Cup where Manchester United ended the Wembley dream with a 3-0 win. Better things were expected in 2016-17, but their poor form was carried over from the previous season. With the side in the bottom four after eleven games, Mellon resigned on 6 October 2016 to become manager of former club Tranmere.
Tranmere were now in the National League after a number of poor seasons, and much was expected of them. They were sitting ninth at the time of his appointment, six points behind leaders Forest Green. Mellon had an immediate impact, but despite having a terrific season which ended with 95 points, Tranmere could not close the gap on an outstanding Lincoln side that also reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup. They went into the playoffs as clear favourites, and a comfortable 5-2 aggregate win over Aldershot took them to Wembley for a showdown with Forest Green. Unfortunately Tranmere turned in an inexplicably poor performance to lose 3-1, and the promotion dream ended in abject disappointment. Only one club has ever won more points without winning promotion (Wrexham, with 98 in 2011-12).
It made them all the more determined to secure promotion in 2017-18, but they got off to a poor start. Promotion looked a million miles away when a 1-0 home defeat by Wrexham left them in eighteenth place after twelve games. Form picked up after that, and a run of seven wins from nine games took them into the play-off spots by the turn of the year. Despite continued good form, they never looked likely to take the title, and a place in the revamped playoffs was secured with a 1-0 win at Dover. A 4-2 win over Ebbsfleet in the single leg semi-final took them back to Wembley, and despite having Liam Ridehalgh sent off after 48 seconds, a 2-1 win over Boreham Wood carried Tranmere back to the Football League after three years away. It gave Mellon his seventh promotion, the fourth as a manager. During the summer of 2018 he was linked with the manager’s job at home town club St Mirren, but he remains at Tranmere.
Micky Mellon has a great record at Tranmere, having earned almost two points per game since his arrival in October 2016. Tranmere were a big fish in a small pond of course, and the step up to League Two is not as straightforward as the majority of supporters would like to believe. Mellon has been there before, and had Fleetwood in the top four at the time of his dismissal. Fleetwood had a tidal wave of money behind them though, and Mellon admits that Tranmere do not have that kind of wherewithal. It will be interesting to see whether he can repeat that success on a smaller budget. He does have experience of promotion from League Two, and will be eager to keep the momentum going at Prenton Park.
Key:
P = Promoted; R = Relegated; SF = Lost in play-off semi-final; F = Lost in play-off final; PO = Won play-off final; D = Demoted.
Figures are league games only; cup matches and playoffs are not included.
League position shown is either the position at the end of the season or the position at the time of departure.
Writer: Scotimp
Who Are The League Two Managers? No.22: Micky Mellon (@TranmereRovers):https://t.co/ENXTIeacVg#Tranmere #SWA #EFL
— Vital Lincoln City (@VitalLincoln) July 31, 2018
https://www.facebook.com/VitalLincolnCity/posts/1789872061049031
