| Wrexham are fast funning out of games and even
manager Brian Little has admitted that it is likely we will be playing
non-league football next season. It has been
all change at Colliers Park this week with Little's on loan players
returning to their parent clubs and the youngsters at the club all
returning from their loan spells at non-league clubs.
Opponents
Notts County are not guaranteed to be in the Football League come the
summer but have opened a five point gap over second bottom Mansfield
with only three games left to play, and have the added cushion of
Dagenham & Redbridge one point behind.
A win for the Magpies will guarantee their safety if
Mansfield fail to beat Shrewsbury at home but County will have to record
only their third away win of the season at the Racecourse if they are
going to do so.
County's 1-0 victory over Accrington on the weekend
was only their fourth in their last twenty-four games but the number of
draws they have picked up has meant that the Magpies have always stayed
on the right side of the relegation zone.
This win ended a run of two straight defeats against
Rochdale and Bury but these defeats did come on the back of only one
defeat in their previous seven, which included five draws and one win.
A quick glance at the league table highlights our
problem this season. County have only won one more game than us and
scored only three more, but they have conceded twelve less and these
goals have resulted in the Magpies picking up an extra seven points than
us via
draws.
County have only picked up two wins on their travels
this season but they are ranked higher than us due to their twelve draws
from twenty-one games away from Meadow Lane.
Top scorer for the Magpies is midfielder Richard
Butcher with eleven goals so far this season but his last strike came
nine games a go.
The man in charge of County is their former player Ian
McParland.
The former Nottingham Forest coach crossed the Trent
to join the Magpies in October last year after Steve Thompson paid the
price for a poor start to the season after sixteen months in charge.
Recent Encounters:
Wrexham conceded a last minute winner at Notts County
in October after Silvio Spann had cancelled our a first half opener for
the home side.
This stretched our run to five games since out last
win over the Magpies - a 3-2 with in the LDV back in 2004 - but you have
to go back to Boxing Day 2001 for our last victory at the Racecourse.
The overall head-to-head in the league sees County
ahead with eighteen wins to our fifteen and there have been fourteen
draws in the forty-seven games between the sides.
Team News:
Expect a completely new look Wrexham side to take the
field at the Racecourse with youth the key after Drewe Broughton, Stuart
Nicholson and Rob Duffy all left during the week.
Michael Jones and Levi Mackin have all returned from
loan spells and both are expected to feature in goal and midfield
respectively.
Connell Murtagh has also returned to Wrexham recently
and he could also feature in midfield alongside Mackin and Marc Williams
is expected to start up front with Matty Done and Wes Baines as possible
wingers.
Danny Sonner and Carl Tremarco are still unavailable
but Mark Jones is unlikely to feature again after announcing on Thursday
that he will be leaving the club come the end of the season.
Midfielder Gary Silk comes back into contention for
Notts County after resuming training while captain Adam Tann is close to
a first-team return.
Jay Smith (knee ligament) is not expected to play again this season.
Elsewhere in League Two:
Second bottom Mansfield will have to start collecting
three points quickly if they are to avoid playing in the Blue Square
with us next season.
They entertain Shrewsbury this weekend who only have
to avoid defeat in this game to secure their own league status.
If Mansfield do collect three points, Macclesfield and
Chester will require three points themselves to make sure but the
Silkmen have the easier of the two games as they entertain Bury with
Chester travelling to play off chasing Wycombe.
Dagenham are in the place just above the relegation
zone and they will be chasing three points at the out-of-form Rotherham
who have gone into free fall after entering administration last month. |
