Two goals within ninety seconds of each other was enough to spark an outbreak of fear and loathing rarely seen on this side of the Mersey. After more than two years of inexorable decline the patience of Tranmere's faithful finally snapped when Oxford moved decisively ahead, in an effortless manner reminiscent of the previous Saturday's Boat Race. The loathing was directed mainly at manager Micky Adams, who was announced on Sunday morning to have left the club by 'mutual consent'. The Tranmere players look down after the final whistle, as the prospect of relegation looms large . This is how it ends in football sometimes: standing in the dugout having a season ticket thrown in your face by an incandescent supporter, who you then see given a standing ovation by some sections upon being escorted out. The fear involves dropping out of the Football League a week on Saturday after 94 years of membership, something which provoked an angry demonstration by some 150 supporters outside the gates afterwards. Adams departs with two games to go and after a 3-0 defeat against a thoroughly professional Oxford side the Wirral's only professional sports outfit are one point behind Cheltenham and two behind Hartlepool. Bitter ironies abound. Relegation to the National League – the grand-sounding new title for the Conference but don't be fooled – may partly be down to Prenton Park legend and ex-manager Ronnie Moore, sacked by the club last season for a minor betting offence, and now masterminding Hartlepool's unlikely survival. And it could all happen under the ownership of former FA Chief Executive Mark Palios, knowledgeable football man and esteemed former Tranmere player who took over the club late last summer. Kemar Roofe celebrates scoring, as a professional Oxford side eased past sorry Tranmere . The battle between Barnet and Bristol Rovers to win automatic promotion to the Football League will go down to the last game. Barnet, who lead the Conference by one point, have a home game against mid-table Gateshead on Saturday while Rovers face a potentially more difficult match at home against fourth from bottom Alfreton, who almost certainly need to win themselves to avoid being relegated. Rovers looked as if they would head the table after the weekend’s games but conceded a goal with two minutes left to draw 1-1 at Dover. That put Barnet, who dropped out of the Football League two seasons ago, in the driving seat after a 1-1 draw away to Kidderminster. Grimsby are guaranteed a play-off spot, but one of Eastleigh, Forest Green and Macclesfield will miss out. It all seemed such a good idea at the time. Nobody questioned his judgement in October when, with the team bottom of the table, he replaced the inexperienced Rob Edwards with a seasoned operator like Adams. There was the odd dead cat bounce, but six months on they are still bottom after failing to keep a clean sheet for nineteen consecutive matches. The Mersey ferry displays a quicker turning circle than that shown by the home defence for the two killer goals that came just after half-time, but then a cause of that may be a lack of familiarity among players. A staggering 52 have been called up to first team duty this season. Adams played the selection and recruitment game like a man on the fruit machine, continually pulling the handle in the hope that the right combination would come up in alignment. The latest loan signing has been young Everton winger George Green who, when pulled off on Saturday after 60 minutes, could be seen haranguing some of his team-mates on the bench. It was not long after full-time that you could catch assistant manager Alan Rogers, part of a distinguished list of former Tranmere players who graduated to a higher level, stripping the paint from the dressing room walls. Micky Adams has left the club by mutual consent, with Tranmere bottom of the league with two games to go . Rogers – now in charge for the next fortnight – then had to deny that Adams's decision to dodge the media was of any significance. He then professed himself 'dumbfounded' by the team's performance. And so it unravels in desperate times. They had actually competed gamely in the first half, but were overwhelmed by anxiety when getting anywhere near the goal. 'It's not acceptable,' he said. 'We just don't look like scoring a goal. The players have got to start taking some responsibility. It's an easy option pointing fingers at the manager but the players have got to look at themselves, have they done enough? The answer is no. I was a player. You've got to stand up and be counted.' Marc Laird, well-travelled journeyman and among those fighting for his career, did not try to shift the blame onto the management. He just about summed up the sense of disbelief saying: 'It's a big club, when I joined in the summer I never imagined that we would be where we are.' The prospect of dropping out of the 92 is something uniquely grim in English football, especially for a club of this heritage, who shortly after joining the league gave a debut to 16 year-old local lad Dixie Dean. It was only in January 2013 that they stood on top of League One and early in the last decade reached the League Cup final plus three FA Cup sixth rounds. But they do not have to look far for examples of how there is no easy road back in the event of relegation. Aside from Southport and Chester there is Wrexham, not far across the Welsh border and a decent sized club, who fell out of the league in 2008 and have yet to return. There is a long trip to Plymouth next Saturday and then a last home game against Bury. The unpalatable odds are that the next stop after that could be somewhere like Braintree or Dover.
Tranmere on brink of relegation from League Two with two games to play . Rovers manager Micky Adams left club by mutual consent on Sunday . Tranmere could drop out of Football League after 94 years .