Liverpool icon John Barnes won't throw in the towel at Tranmere Rovers.

Tranmere's stuttering start, including a 5-0 drubbing at Millwall, took a further blow on Tuesday night as Rovers were dumped out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy by League Two side Bury.

Asked on Sky Sports News whether he ever thought management might not be for him, Barnes replied: "Not at all.

"I've been waiting to get back in. I understand how difficult it is and obviously at Tranmere things have changed.

"We've lost six of the first-team players from last year. And while we started well, we went through a week where we played Leeds and Charlton and I think the confidence drained out of the side when we lost those two matches.

"We came back against Colchester and Wycombe for some good results. We drew against Colchester and we beat Wycombe, but then of course we lost to Millwall.

"But these are challenges that every manager goes through and the fact that I'm John Barnes and maybe more high-profile than others means nothing."