Dragons Head To Hampshire In Search Of Third Victory

Manager Bryan Hughes and his Dragons head to Havant and Waterlooville in search of a third successive Vanarama National League win.

Wrexham fired up their promotion hopes with back-to-back 1-0 wins and now go into a run of three away fixtures in eight days.

They travel to Hampshire on Saturday before trips to Boreham Wood on Tuesday and Gateshead next weekend.

Wrexham are third, four points behind leaders Solihull Moors with a game in hand, while Havant are unbeaten in their last four league games and lie 18th in the table.

Hughes has settled quickly at the Racecourse and says: “We have a really good team spirit. Our dressing room is really strong.

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“I’ve seen that before in my playing career, dressing rooms like that that are a big help when you are challenging for promotion.

“I can feel the same sort of feeling in the dressing room when I walk in as some of the teams that I played for that went on and clinched promotion.

“It is important as a manager now to step back, let them do that themselves and keep building that.

“I will come in, make my thoughts known as and when I need to and make sure the discipline and organisational side is still there.

“But as a squad and as a team, everything that I have seen so far has been extremely positive.”

Manager Lee Bradbury says the Hawks are relishing Wrexham’s visit to Westleigh Park and believes they can cause an upset.

“Wrexham are a top team and we can expect a tough examination,” said Bradbury. 

“This is among our biggest games of the season.

“I played alongside Bryan Hughes at Birmingham City. He will have Wrexham organised and playing good football. 

“We are in a good place at the moment, fourth in the current form table. 

“That’s down to being competitive and keeping our concentration. Earlier in the season we weren’t doing that and it was losing us games. 

“This fixture is an opportunity for us to show just how far we have come. We have learned what it takes to be competitive and become harder to beat.”

Havant are unbeaten in their past four league games and have kept three clean sheets. 

Wrexham have the best defensive record in National League football, but have only scored 38 goals in 32 games, the lowest tally among teams in the top 10.

Wrexham’s Mike Fondop-Talom has joined Maidenhead United on loan. Pic: Wrexham AFC.r. Pic: Wrexham AFC.

Hughes and his players have worked hard in training on ways to improve their scoring rate and he says: “We are starting to get them into areas of the pitch where they can make the right decisions, pick the right passes and create goals that can keep us building momentum this season.

“It is the finer detail that needs working on in the build-up before you get the finish so we have been looking at that a lot more in training this week.

“A lot of the sessions have been aimed towards that but not going away from our defensive responsibilities because that is where we have earned our success this year.

“Defensively we have been strong and that is why we are in a healthy position in the league.”

Wrexham defender Kevin Roberts is doubtful with a calf injury, while midfield player Luke Summerfield is unlikely to be risked as he continues his recovery from his calf strain.

Wrexham have allowed striker Mike Fondop, 25, to join Maidenhead United on loan until the end of this season.

Manager Alan Devonshire hasn’t been happy with the Magpies’ goals tally and Fondop will feature against Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Maidenhead’s chief scout Lee Devonshire said: “Mike is someone we have admired for a long time.

“He is a mobile powerful centre-forward with good technical ability and will complement our other attacking options.”

Vanarama National League As It Stands

		Team	P	GD	Pts
1		Solihull Moors	33	23	63
2		Leyton Orient	32	30	61
3		Wrexham	32	16	59
4		Fylde	32	25	57
5		Salford	32	24	57
6		Sutton United	31	8	55
7		Harrogate	31	18	53
8		Gateshead	33	9	52
9		Eastleigh	32	-1	52
10		Ebbsfleet	32	12	47
11		Barrow	32	-2	42
12		Bromley	32	-2	41
13		Hartlepool	32	-8	40
14		Dag & Red	32	-2	39
15		Boreham Wood	32	-4	39
16		Halifax	31	-6	35
17		Barnet	27	-7	35
18		Havant & Waterlooville	32	-9	34
19		Maidenhead United	32	-21	34
20		Chesterfield	31	-7	33
21		Dover	33	-18	33
22		Aldershot	32	-28	28
23		Maidstone United	32	-26	26
24		Braintree	32	-24	25