November 2008 Archives
The FA Cup exit apart, Wrexham's fortunes have been looking up of late with manager Dean Saunders boasting a 100% Blue Square Premiership record to date and progress in the Setanta Shield to boot.
But the Dragons face a major test of their credentials in the coming weeks with three successive away matches against sides whose home records have been good and, with the exception of Saturday's opponents Weymouth, who would also hope to be in the promotion mix at the business end of the campaign next year.
The visits to Kidderminster Harriers and Stevenage Borough, in particular, could have a major and longer term influence on what happens at the Racecourse with regard to the manager's plans when the January transfer window opens and the level of financial muscle made available to him by the club's directors.
Recruitment to date - Ashley Westwood, Joe Allen, Ritchie De Laet, Angelo Tsiaklis and most recently Patrick Suffo - is indicative of Saunders' initial verdict on the quality of the squad he inherited from Brian Little.
But the majority of the recent arrivals are a short-term answer and if Wrexham fail either to improve their league position or at least maintain it in the coming month, the Racecourse boss will be looking to make further and more permanent changes in personnel during the important post-Christmas period.
Only this week he confirmed that quality rather than quantity is what is required and, while he may be confident in his ability to attract the players he wants, they probably won't come as cheaply as a club in Wrexham's circumstances might have hoped.
It will require a leap of faith by the club's directors to back their manager's judgement and they can be prodded in the right direction if supporters continue to back the Dragons in the sort of numbers that to date have been the envy of many other Blue Square Premiership outfits.
Unfortunately there are not too many Racecourse dates between now and Christmas to boost the coffers so Saunders and his players need to pick up results on the road in order to maximise the potential for improving attendances.
In a nutshell a team effort involving everyone from the boardroom down could be the catalyst for a New Year promotion push as opposed to the relegation battle that dominated the second half of the previous two seasons.
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