CAREY LEARNS FROM MASTER FERGIE
Peter Shuttleworth - Wales on Sunday

SIR Alex Ferguson will be Wrexham's secret weapon in their League Two promotion push.

British football's greatest manager has been sharing his knowledge and experience with rookie Racecourse boss Brian Carey. Fergie's son Darren was favourite to succeed Denis Smith earlier this year - but Wrexham's new board shocked fans by letting Ferguson Jnr leave to manage League Two rivals Peterborough.

But the footballing knight is still having an influence at Wrexham as Carey revealed Fergie's pep talks helped the Reds boss inspire Wrexham's great escape from Football League relegation last term.

Ferguson was a father figure to the former Irish defender Carey during his four years at Manchester United - and 14 years after leaving Old Trafford, the nine-time Premier League winner is still mentoring his pupil.

Fiery Scot Fergie has also been on the phone over the summer as Carey plots Wrexham's route out of League Two - but with promotion rather than relegation.

"I called Fergie for advice because there's nobody better," said Carey, 39. "He's the guy every manager in Britain should learn from.

"Fergie reminds me of the need for making common sense decisions, building on things and getting the basics right. He tells guys not to over-complicate a simple game like football and ensure every member of the squad is always striving to improve.

"Fergie's big thing is about having character and perseverance. The way I got through last season's tough run-in, when relegation was a real danger, was always thinking to myself, 'what would Fergie do in a situation like this?'

"The answer was, he would have dusted himself off, put on a brave face, remain positive, be a leader and keep people on their toes."

Carey's Wrexham dragged themselves back from the brink of non-league oblivion with four victories in five games in a dramatic run-in that culminated in a final-day survival act against Boston United.

Carey's heroics not only proved to himself that he could make the transition from player to manager but to Wrexham fans that he - and not Ferguson Jnr - is the man to breathe fire into The Dragons following years of turmoil.

Both men are ex-Wrexham captains and fans favourites, but the renowned Ferguson managerial brand had obvious sway.

So when Darren Ferguson accepted an offer to become Peterborough boss in January - just days before Carey replaced the experienced Smith at The Racecourse - Wrexham fans feared they'd missed a trick.

Carey admitted: "People perhaps thought that because of Darren's name. Darren had always been more forthcoming in his coaching aspirations, but my dream was always to manage Wrexham and be successful.

"I've an affection for this club that goes back 16 years when I came here first on loan from Manchester United. The club means a lot to me, so when I was offered the manager's job on trial, I was made up.

"I'm not on trial any more now, I'm doing the job for real."

Ferguson Snr clearly has no hard feelings towards club or Carey - whose reward for saving Wrexham was a two-year deal - as his counsel is still forthcoming.

Fergie isn't Carey's only big-name guiding light. His all-star managerial mentors also include England World Cup winner Jack Charlton and Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill.

Carey was at Old Trafford between 1989 and 1993 before joining Leicester City for three years, where he worked under O'Neill. Charlton rewarded him with international recognition with the Republic of Ireland between 1992 and 1994.

Carey said: "The key ingredient Fergie, Jack and O'Neill have in their teams are big characters and leaders.

"Their teams manage themselves as the players are all determined men who take responsibility; the kind of players who wouldn't wait for half-time team talks to change things. Their players show they care.

"That's what I want from my players because they are the ones that cross the white line, not me."

So with that in mind, Carey has added vast experience to his fledgling Wrexham squad over the summer.

Richard Hope and Eifion Williams have beefed up Wrexham's defensive and attacking lines respectively, while striker Michael Proctor and goalkeeper Anthony Williams have made their loan deals permanent.

Carey's shrewd transfer activity this summer has given huge optimism in North Wales that Wrexham will be fighting at the right end of the division; but the boss will strive to maintain last year's 'edge'.

"For a new manager, coming into a relegation battle was the nightmare scenario," said Carey. "It wasn't a case of 'nothing to lose' as there was plenty of time to get out of problems.

"But the fear of relegation is good pressure to have. I'll somehow have to manufacture that pressure this season without the real fear of relegation.

"I don't want to be working in a happy-go-lucky environment because players produce their best performances when they are playing on the edge."

He added: "We learned a lot from last season but we've numbers in the squad now and a group of lads who really want to achieve great things and not just pick up easy wages.

"We have a lot of goal-scoring options now with Williams and Proctor joining Chris Llewellyn, Neil Roberts and Juan Ugarte."

Wrexham may have been in the bottom division for longer than they had hoped but have the luxury of beginning a campaign free from the shackles of boardroom and financial trouble.

Administration, penny-pinching, controversial owners and uncertainty are now a thing of the past.

"The supporters have had to put up so much bull over the years," said Carey.

"The club has, at last, stability off-the-field and I'm proud that I have the opportunity to be able to move Wrexham forward.

"Everybody in North Wales should come together and help drive this club forward. Everyone should remember what we almost lost and come to support the boys. We'll respond by entertaining with an enjoyable brand of football."

I'M BACKING A WALES TREBLE
Neville Southall - Wales On Sunday

IT'S been a summer to forget but I've got a feeling this could be a season to remember for our boys.

Forget the rain, how many times have we sat here before the start of a campaign and not brought up the words relegation or even mid-table?

Instead - and you can't say the sun's gone to my head - all three clubs have got real hopes of making a fist of top-six finishes.

How refreshing is that? How exciting is it to genuinely feel we could be celebrating three separate successes in the Spring?

And I don't think you could be accused of being biased if you thought the same.

I'm tipping Wrexham to lead the way and I don't think it's as daft as it sounds.

It's one of those funny things in football, especially in the bottom division, where a survival scrap can be the perfect preparation for promotion. After going right to the wire, everyone has that relief so fresh in their mind when they come in for pre-season that they are ready to go out and keep that winning spirit.

A good start in that division can mean everything and if there's a few wins behind them they'll suddenly realise they can keep it up. In my mind, the whole thing is set up for Wrexham.

The club is panning out in the right way, they have a good manager and they have the chance to surprise a lot of people with the decent team they've built up.

Roberto at Swansea has also managed to piece together a good-looking side at the Liberty.

But I just hope he knows something about some of his kids that the rest of us don't at the moment. When you look at the facts for Swansea it doesn't look good - they've just got rid of their best player, a guy who was the George Best of his division.

But the manager obviously felt he had enough there to deal with the loss and he's certainly made his mark on the team by letting it happen.

Perhaps he feels other players, now the star has gone, will come to the fore and after going so close a couple of times they are in the right place to push on. It's a big year, but if Roberto is right then they can crack the top six.

And that's what their rivals down the road will be trying to do, too.

There's a lot of pressure on Cardiff, there's people outside Wales expecting more from Dave Jones' side now they've raised the bar by landing Robbie Fowler.

The big factor for me is getting another frontman to play alongside him, someone to take the knocks for Robbie because he will score you goals, there's no doubt about that.

But the difference this year could be the experience the younger lads gained from missing out last time around.

Kids are never quite sure what to do when you've lost four or five games on the spin, what to do to make it right. But lads like Joe Ledley have gone through that now and Dave has added a few quality, older heads to mix in and they will be able to relax things, to keep calm and know a victory is always only around the corner. Combine that with the talent in the team and it's difficult to knock their ambitions. So why not a Welsh hat-trick? All three clubs are pointing the right way.