WHILE the Wrexham fans would have loved to have seen another win over a Championship side at the Racecourse, it was at least another solid performance from all 21 players used in holding Blackpool to a 0-0 draw.

Chances, although not taken, were at least created, while at the other end it was another clean sheet and that brought a smile to the face of Gavin Ward.

"Do you know what is really pleasing me at the moment?" said the keeper. "That both the young lads stepping up and the new players coming in, are all gelling with the existing senior players.

"There is a great atmosphere in the squad, which is growing in training and I think is becoming evident in these friendlies.

"Not losing any match, whether a practice or league game, just helps everyone's confidence and I think you can see in these friendlies, that even with the wholesale changes which are made, it hasn't really upset how we have played.

"Yes, you can't read too much into pre-season, but it's always nice to keep a clean sheet. As a defender, you can take some satisfaction from that and the more we do that, then the more it helps the team.

"Because we have now held both Wolves and Blackpool, we have to make sure we don't drop our standards and also maintain our concentration into the start of the season."

A veteran of more pre-season's than he may care to recall, Gavin was struggling going into this afternoon's match.

"I pulled a muscle in my neck and it was quite sore on Thursday," he said.

"It felt better on Friday and then I woke up this monring feeling much better. So I had a word with Pej and we decided to give it a go for 45 minutes.

"In the end I came through fine and now looking forward to Tuesday night's match with Crewe."