Championship still the aim for Denis
By Mark Currie, Daily Post
21 October 2005
FOUR
turbulent years as manager of Wrexham have done nothing to alter manager Denis
Smith's opinion that the Racecourse club is a Championship outfit simply waiting
to emerge from the most perilous period of its 133-year existence.
Yesterday's landmark legal ruling that ownership of the Racecourse Ground should
be returned to the club's administrators will certainly help to lift morale and
steady the ship, but the Dragons boss has always appeared upbeat in the face of
adversity.
Last Saturday's 4-2 home win against Torquay United marked the fourth
anniversary of Smith's first game in charge of the Dragons following his
appointment as successor to Brian Flynn.
And despite a litany of boardroom mismanagement, incompetent leadership,
questionable land transfers, directorial bust-ups and the demise of two
chairmen, all of which culminated in Wrexham being placed into administration
last December, the Dragons boss has appeared steadfast.
Gazing from the window of his Colliers Park office this week, he said: "On day
one in the job I said Wrexham could be a Championship club and my view has not
changed.
"You only have to look at this training complex, the Racecourse Ground and
around North Wales to realise the untapped potential. We live in a big region
and while pessimists point out the proximity of Premiership clubs in Merseyside
and Manchester, I regard our location as a bonus because it means we can attract
players from those areas.
"Everything is set up for the club to do well and prosper, except for what has
been happening with regard to the ownership of the club and the lack of
direction from the boardroom.
"I've spent the majority of my managerial career in what is now the Championship
and I know there is enough potential here to take Wrexham to that level and keep
them there."
Now just a month short of his 58th birthday, the former Sunderland, West Brom
and Bristol City boss admitted he had thought long and hard before taking the
Racecourse job, but is equally adamant he has since had no regrets.
"I had just had a metal plate inserted in my neck and, having planned to retire
at 55, I had to consider whether I wanted to carry on working," he added. "But
the opportunity came along and I looked at the potential.
"Of course I knew there were problems too - I just didn't realise how bad they
were - and those have been compounded by changes in the game, particularly with
regard to the transfer market.
"Since I've been here we've lost lots of good players for nothing, which is
extremely frustrating. In terms of strikers alone, Lee Trundle, Andy Morrell and
Juan Ugarte all left simply because of poor organisation.
"I could not tie them down to contracts because we did not have the financial
planning in place, but under contract we would have got money for all three.
We've also had to slash the wage bills and work within them.
"But living within our means doesn't mean the club has to stand still and if you
go up a division or have a good cup run that money has to be invested for the
benefit of the club.
"It's a case of building brick by brick rather than row by row of bricks."
Even such modest progress was threatened by last December's administration
order, which brought with it the 10-point deduction that ultimately cost Wrexham
their League One status and was the lowest point of Smith's tenure.
"From a personal point of view, I don't like being in League Two because,
without being big-headed, I think I'm better than that," he said. "But I had the
choice of leaving then or continuing to try and take the club to the level I
think it should be at, which I felt was the better course of action. But the
effects of the deduction are evident.
"Only four of the players who won the LDV Vans Trophy in April played at
Black-pool on Tuesday. Under the circumstances though I find it hard to
criticise players like Carlos Edwards, Steve Roberts, Craig Morgan, Chris
Llewellyn and Juan Ugarte.
"They walked away because they didn't know what was going to happen to the club
and I can understand their motives."
Ugarte yesterday returned to the Dragons on a month's loan, but the rules
governing clubs in administration mean it will be difficult for him to remain.
Yesterday's High Court ruling to revert ownership
of the Racecourse to the club's administrators should smooth progress towards
resolving the ownership issue, but Smith knows a breakthrough is required if
similar problems with departures are to be avoided this summer.
"Once we get some stability at the top, we'll get it everywhere else in the
club," he added. "If we get things right at the top and we have people there who
share our ambitions, we will go forward. It won't happen overnight but the
potential is there.
"The youth development policy is excellent and the playing side of things is
ticking over, thanks to the support of the administrators, people like Neville
Dickens and Geoff Moss and the supporters.
"On the field we have a nucleus of players - Mike Ingham, Simon Spender, Jon
Walters, Lee McEvilly, Danny Williams, Andy Holt, Simon Spender - in their early
to mid-20s, and if we can hold on to them and convince them the club has a good
future, we'll then only have to tweak things a bit to build a really good
squad."
Currently working without a contract, Smith admits his own future could also be
uncertain, but insists he hasn't given that too much thought.
"Yes, I haven't got a contract here but I've always backed my own ability and if
people don't want you, they aren't really worth the paper they are written on,"
he said..
"Wrexham will be taken over at some stage and then I'll have to decide whether I
can work with those people or find somewhere else to go.
"But I like living here, as does my wife Kate. We love the people and, even in
the short time we've been in Wrexham, we've seen the area grow.
"New houses and businesses coming in present opportunities for the club to grow
the fan base and expand commercial links.
"I enjoy my job and, although I had made plans to retire at 55, if I'm honest it
is the last thing I want to do.
"I don't play golf and apart from reading and watching a bit of cricket I don't
have any hobbies - so retirement does not hold many attractions.
"If I was to leave Wrexham and couldn't get a job, you would probably find me
turning up at one of the local clubs in the area."