LITTLE - NEXT TWO MATCHES CRUCIAL FOR WREXHAM SURVIVAL
Richard Williams - Wrexham Evening Leader

BRIAN LITTLE today admitted that Wrexham's destiny will be shaped by the outcome of their next two matches, declaring the double header as Wrexham's biggest week of the season.

Bottom-club Wrexham take on Mansfield Town, the side immediately above them in the table with a one point advantage, at Field Mill tonight (7.45pm) in their crucial relegation showdown.

Wrexham then entertain 19th-placed Macclesfield, who are still not out of trouble despite winning their last two matches, at The Racecourse on Saturday in another key battle.

Eight points adrift of safety, Little stressed the importance of Wrexham picking up points against their two fellow strugglers.

"It is probably the biggest week for the club since this time last year," said Little today. "Certainly in my time at the club, it is the biggest week.

"Two of the last three games have been away but we thought we would have got more points than we did.

"We genuinely have to get something out of these two matches.

"I am not saying we have to win both but we are getting to the point we need to win games or the gap will be even bigger. It is not rocket science to say these two games are vital to us staying in the league.

"It would still be possible if we did not pick up any points but we have to avoid that at all costs. Our belief is we need to do something these two games."

Wrexham have eight matches remaining in the battle to preserve their Football League status and Little acknowledged the need to keep in touch with the sides immediately above the Reds.

"If the gap is bigger in a week, and we are eight or 11 points behind, that is massive," said Little.

"But we will never give up.

"These two games are not the be all and end all, but they are very important. And it is important we close the gap or it will be harder to catch the teams ahead of us."

Wrexham operated with an adventurous 3-4-3 formation in Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Barnet before switching to a 4-4-2 system.

Ultimately it was poor defending that cost Wrexham, who conceded the opening goal in first half injury time and Little said the Reds have to cut out the errors during their eight game run-in.

"As a manager, when you play a certain way, people say you should have played this way or that," said Little.

"We have just made too many individual mistakes.

"No one individual is responsible for where we are, it is a collective thing.

"If we can sort that out, hopefully it will give us a chance of winning games."

Little was hoping to welcome back midfielder Neil Roberts who missed the Barnet defeat because of a viral infection.

However, Roberts knocked himself unconscious in training yesterday after falling awkwardly and is a doubt so Danny Williams is on stand by.

"Danny is the kind of player we need and we might take him down there depending on how Neil is," added Little. "Danny has now played a few reserve team matches and he is the kind of character you want in the squad."

Mansfield boss Paul Holland is under no illusions that only three points against Wrexham tonight will realistically keep alive Mansfield's season.

Holland said: "I would probably go as far as saying it's a must-win game, but I'm confident and I think the players share my confidence.

"Everyone has identified the Wrexham game as being crucial, and they are right, but the one at Macclesfield is just as important.

"We just want to go to Dagenham on the last day of the season in a position where if we get a result we will stay up.

"Dagenham have dropped into it, Macclesfield have a hard run-in and Chester are not completely out of it. They only have five games left and if they lost those it would give us a chance."

Meanwhile, John Batchelor, the former owner of York City who is bidding to buy Mansfield Town, is reportedly planning to rename the club Harchester United after the team in the former Sky series The Dream Team.

WREXHAM'S SURVIVAL BID HIT BY NEIL ROBERTS SCARE
Mark Currie - Daily Post

NEIL ROBERTS was at the centre of a major injury scare after knocking himself unconscious during a training session ahead of Wrexham's crucial League Two match at Mansfield Town this evening.

The Racecourse club captain fell awkwardly after colliding with colleagues Sam Aiston and Phil Bolland and had to be revived on the pitch before being taken to hospital where mild concussion was diagnosed.

But the 29-year-old player, who missed Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Barnet because of a viral infection, has declared himself available for tonight's Field Mill clash, although the final decision rests with a concerned Dragons boss Brian Little.

"I would be very surprised if he was fit to play, given the current guidelines regarding head injuries," he said. "We'll have to see what tomorrow brings because losing Neil again would be a blow.

"It might be more realistic that he will be fit for Saturday's game with Macclesfield, when Steve Evans should also come into the reckoning after a few solid days of training."

Turning his thoughts to the game, which both the league's bottom two sides are desperate to win, Little added: "Actions have to speak louder than words for us this week.

"We've talked ourselves up before each of the last three games in the hope of getting more of a return than the one point we got, but the realisation is now setting in. We certainly don't want to be here next Monday with the same number of points and potentially further off the pace, so one win is vital and two would be the ideal.

"There is no longer any hiding place after Saturday where we gave away poor goals in a game where we did more than enough to win.

"I was 30 seconds away from thinking we'd go on to beat Barnet when they scored just before half time.

"And when you are in the position we are, that first goal does make a difference. We scored two goals, which is a source of some encouragement, but the basics have let us down.

"Barnet were on edge for 45 minutes until the goal lifted all of their players for the second half."

With Danny Sonner and Carl Tremarco still missing and Roberts a doubt, the Racecourse boss is still mulling over his line-up after starting with a 3-4-3 system at Underhill before switching to 4-4-2 late on in a bid to salvage a point.

"We went with 4-4-2 at Brentford and got nowhere near the game," he said.

"On Saturday with 3-4-3 I thought we were absolutely cruising and had something left in the locker in terms of changing things to win the game.

"But as a football manager the only way to win an argument is to win games. Hindsight is a marvellous thing and when you lose you have to be open to criticism.

"Overall, though, I think as a group we have made some good decisions tactically, but we have made some silly decisions on the pitch.

"But the bottom line at Mansfield tomorrow is that if either side loses the game, the situation will not be healthy for them.

"If one of us wins the reward is potentially massive very quickly.

"So, with Macclesfield at home on Saturday as well this is a very big week for us."

Central defender Phil Bolland, who has rapidly proved almost indispensable since joining Wrexham from Chester during the January transfer window, believes the Dragons need to bank maximum points this week to have a realistic chance of survival.

"We've had a lot of so-called big games recently, but we are at the business end now," he said.

"Basic mistakes have cost us dearly and we've talked about them a lot, but it's time to start doing.

"And three points at Mansfield is a must because we need to find two wins on the bounce to get us right back in the thick of it. As the gaffer said after Saturday we have been our own worst enemies, so we have to eradicate the errors if we are to drag some other teams into the relegation fight.

"A win tomorrow would make a few people sit up and start worrying a bit more and, although a draw would not be a disaster, we don't want to start running out of games.

"To some extent our fate is still in our own hands, but we have been saying that for a long time and now we have to take the initiative and fight ourselves off the bottom."

Hosts Mansfield are one point better off than Wrexham but with one less match to play.

Stags manager Paul Holland said: "A point tomorrow is no good to either side so I don't think they will be coming here for a draw.

"That may help us and it could be a good, open game of football.

"We will try to pass the ball.

"That is the only way we can play. In the games where we have got it down and passed it we have looked a very good team.

"We do not have the personnel here to play the long ball and percentage game. We will keep trying to do the right things and hope we get our rewards."