Happy New Year, everybody. 2023 is here and I suppose it's time for some New Year's Resolutions.
- Go To The Gym. The new gym in the Wrexham Lager Stand is nearing completion, with the floor being laid as I type. If all goes to plan, it will be fully operational next week. I look forward to getting in there myself and pointing out a few key tips to the coaches and players. They will definitely appreciate those. My personal fitness goals are to come away with Aaron Hayden's leap, James Jones' engine and Jordan Davies' boyish good looks.
- Get Home Life In Order. We lost a game at the Racecourse in 2022. Unacceptable. I have asked Phil to look into the possibility of winning some of our games next year twice to make up for it. We've got some big league games coming up at home in the latter half of the season. Wins against Chesterfield and Notts County would both be very gratefully received.
- Spring Cleaning. Demolition work has begun on the Kop, as we continue to wait for the outcome of the UK Government's Leveling-up Fund deliberations. The deconstruction of this old and much-loved friend is a bittersweet moment for everyone at the Club, but the ability to add an extra 5500 tickets helps to salve the wounds. There has been a great deal of construction around the Racecourse in the last two years, but nothing that compares to the scale of this operation.
- Be Good Neighbours. The Festive tradition of playing near neighbours Home and Away all turned out very satisfactorily this year. A thumping 5-0 Boxing Day extravaganza at Home to Solihull Moors was followed up with an even more satisfying 2-1 Away win to give us a maximum haul from two potentially very tricky games. One of the challenges for us in the National League is just how far away so many of our games are. At the end of this month we have a brutal back-to-back of Maidstone and Gateshead Away. Far Away. perhaps in the latter half of the year we should try playing a bunch of different teams. Perhaps in a different division. Teams that are closer. Just a thought.
- Make New Friends. January often brings new faces into the Racecourse and while this year there is no pressing business to be concluded, we have seen the arrival of Andy Cannon from Hull City. With games coming thick and fast we will need every member of the squad to play their part. Our squad depth this year presents us with the opportunity to fight our campaign on several fronts and should help prevent the burnout that laid us low at the end of last season. We are also advantaged this year by our ability to sign players beyond the end of January, so can better cope with any injury disasters. I suppose we shall have to wait and see.
On to Coventry!