Dragons look to breathe new fire

By David Dulin

Last season was one to forget for Wrexham after the club lost its Football League status following an 87-year stay.

The Dragons will be hoping to bounce back at the first attempt, but that is much easier said than done.

Competition for promotion out of the Blue Square Premier has been fierce over the last few years.

Some of the bigger clubs like Torquay and Oxford and Cambridge have so far tried and failed to make the return.

And after a five-year absence, Exeter will finally be playing league football again this season.

Brian Little knows he has a tough task ahead (Lessopix)

Manager Brian Little knows what it takes to succeed, and he has had to make some major changes.

He has ripped up last year's relegation squad with 16 players either released or not having their loan spells renewed.

They include ex-Wales strikers Neil Roberts and Chris Llewellyn.

In their place, Little has assembled a squad with a vast amount of non-league experience to try and boost the club's chances.

"We have brought in quite a few new players and they have responded well," he said.

"We have still got to put the final pieces together.

"Overall we've had a good month or so and changed quite a few things around.

"It's debatable whether we've done as much as we need to do, but we certainly feel we are a different side."

Up front, a strike pairing seems to be forming between new boys Jefferson Louis and attacking midfielder Shaun Whalley.

The pair have been finding the net in recent friendlies and will provide more competition for Michael Proctor, Marc Williams and new recruit Simon Brown.

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Tom Kearney is one of the names being tipped for the Wrexham captaincy and could play an important role in midfield along with Silvio Spann, Sam Aiston and youngster Levi Mackin.

One midfielder who will not be present is Paul Carden who agreed a move to the Racecourse only to change his mind at the last minute for a coaching role at Cambridge.

Little has also reshaped the defence with Kyle Critchell, Nat Brown, and Darran Kempson coming in, while he has held on to Steve Evans and Carl Tremarco.

Shaun Whalley and Jefferson Louis can form a strong pairing (Lessopix)

But while Wrexham will be targeting a flying start, they will have to be aware of teams faltering after similar early success in recent years.

Oxford looked to be running away with the lead two years ago, while Torquay were the victims last season.

"We are getting very close to getting stuck into what will be a very difficult campaign for us," said Little.

"By the end of August, we will know the league inside out and hopefully that will be a good thing.

"We've got to have a decent August to make it all worthwhile and to get all of our fans on board, because we are not complete without our fans on side.

"For that to be complete, we have to win football matches."

BBC WALES FOOTBALL PREDICTIONS

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In: Simon Brown (Mansfield Town, free), Jefferson Louis (Mansfield Town, free), Shaun Whalley (Accrington Stanley, free), Tom Kearney (Halifax Town, free), Kyle Critchell (Weymouth, free), Nat Brown (Lincoln City, free), Darran Kempson (Shrewsbury, free)

Out: Robbie Garrett, Paul Hall, Drewe Broughton, Robert Duffy, Stuart Nicholson (all end of loan), Chris Llewellyn, Phil Bolland, Neil Roberts, Danny Sonner, Mark Jones, Josh Johnson, Jeff Whitley, Michael Carvill, Michael Jones, Danny Williams, Alex Darlington (all released), Matty Done (Hereford United, free), Richard Hope (Grimsby, free)

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