LITTLE RUES MISSED WREXHAM OPPORTUNITY
Richard Williams - Wrexham Evening Leader

BRIAN LITTLE rued Wrexham's inability to pick up victories against their fellow strugglers in the last couple of weeks.

Rock bottom Wrexham were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Macclesfield Town at The Racecourse on Saturday, a result which leaves the Reds seven points away from safety with six matches remaining.

A poor recent run against their relegation rivals has seen Wrexham only draw with Dagenham and Redbridge as well as Macclesfield, and they have been beaten by Mansfield, Barnet and mid-table Brentford.

And manager Little admitted Wrexham's five game sequence without a win has proved costly.

"We are bottom for a reason and you can't tell me that after 40 games, the table doesn't lie," said Little today.

"We are under no illusions. Our trick is to try and get out of trouble and these last two weeks, when we have had the games which could have got us out if it, those are the ones that we needed to win.

"Anything that we got against MK Dons and Darlington were massive bonuses but when it is the real nitty gritty ones, the games you need to come through, we just can't get that win and that is where the big problem lies.

"These last two weeks we have had some great opportunities to punish teams but we haven't taken advantage of it and that is why we are where we are."

Little could not fault the effort of his players in the on-going battle to pull clear of the drop zone but he admitted his side have been lacking in quality.

"In lots of recent games, commitment has been great but quality under average I would think," said Little.

"We have got loads of quantity but we are lacking in quality.

"Quantity is workrate, effort and commitment, but we made loads of mistakes which is where the quality comes in, and ultimately quality is costing us.

"You look at the results and if we could have won our home game, we would put pressure on people even at this late stage.

"I am disappointed but we will keep trying.

"We can't give them any more quality than they got, we just hope that we keep the commitment right because at the moment that is why people are applauding them to a degree.

"The bottom line is that the bit of quality you need to win a game is lacking at the moment."

Wrexham fell behind when a poor clearance allowed Macclesfield to take the lead early in the second half.

Centre-back Steve Evans equalised for Wrexham 11 minutes from time, but Little said seeing his side having to battle their way back into matches is becoming an all too common occurrence.

"It was a poor goal again," said Little. "We felt if we defended and kept them out we might score a goal but we have gone to sleep on a set-piece and they have had a free shot.

"And then we had to change again.

"I have said to my staff that there have been so few games where I don't have to do something drastic at some stage.

"You are running out of different tactics to try and get a result.

"We had to get a tactic that got us some longitude in the game, it was pointless changing to have to change again.

"The problem I have had from day one is there has hardly been a game gone by where I don't have to do something drastic substitution wise to try and win a match. It happens too often."

Little, who saw right wing back Simon Spender limp of with an ankle ligament injury, was also disappointed with the quality of the crosses into the penalty area from his players.

"In the first ten minutes of the game, we could have scored three or four goals based on the positions we got into, not because of the final ball because it was the final ball that let us down," added Little.

"Simon Spender got in some great positions but delivery was poor. It was from Simon today but on other days it has been other people.

"They had two free-kicks and put them in wonderfully dangerous areas.

"If we did not practice them then fine, but we spend quite a bit of time dropping set-piece balls into areas, and through the week we are not bad at it."

WE DON'T HAVE THE QUALITY TO WIN SAYS LITTLE
Mark Currie - Daily Post

WREXHAM manager Brian Little once more bemoaned his team's inability to make the most of their opportunities following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Macclesfield Town.

Dismissing the turn-of-year victories over high-flyers MK Dons and Darlington as "a massive bonus", he identified the recent spate of failures to beat run-of-the-mill opponents as the root cause of the club's impending relegation.

Although the drop has yet to be mathematically confirmed, the Dragons are seven points from safety with just six games left and the Racecourse boss seemed close to accepting the inevitability of the club's situation.

"The bottom line is that the quality you need to win a game of football is just lacking at the moment," he said.

"We have been bottom of the league for most of the season and that affects the players to a degree. But we are bottom for a reason and after 40 games the table does not lie.

"So we are under no illusions, but in the last two weeks we have had the games that could have got us out of trouble. Brentford, Dagenham, Barnet, Mansfield and here today were games we needed to win.

"The wins against Darlington and MK Dons were a massive bonus, but while we have been equal to all these other teams we have not been able to nail down the win and that is where the big problem is.

"In the last two weeks we have had some great opportunities to punish teams but we have not done so and that is why we are where we are."

Little added: "I think that in lots of recent games the commitment has been great, but the quality has been below average in most cases.

"In the first 10 minutes today we could have scored three or four goals based on the positions we got into - but not because of the final ball, because that's what let us down.

"I think Macclesfield had a system, but once Marc (Williams) played behind our front two he pulled their left wing-back out of position and there was a massive gap on the right.

"(Simon) Spender got in some great positions then, but his delivery was poor and that's something we've had a lot of.

"Today it was Simon, on other occasions it's been other people. They (Macclesfield) had two free kicks and put them into wonderfully dangerous areas and if we didn't practice set-pieces I would say 'fine', but we spend quite a bit of time on them in the week."

"Ultimately lack of quality is costing us every week," he said. "It was a poor goal again on a day when we felt had we kept them out we might score a goal, but we went to sleep on a set piece and they had a free shot.

"Then we had to change again and it's fair to say there have not been many games when I have not had to do something drastic at some stage."

"When you look at the other results today we know that if we had won we would have put pressure on other teams, even at this stage," he added.