By Rob Griffiths, Daily Post
07 December 2007
BRIAN
LITTLE was very bullish in summing up Wrexham’s decent start under his
leadership, but warned no one could afford to rest on their laurels.
Since Little has taken charge of the Racecourse outfit, the Dragons have moved
out of the bottom two relegation places having secured five points from a
possible nine and are so far unbeaten under the former Aston Villa and Leicester
boss.
And following their victory over Bury in midweek at Gigg Lane – their first
three points since a brace from Neil Roberts handed them the win at Accrington
Stanley in early October – Wrexham moved up to 20th in the table.
But Little warned that there was still along way to go before Wrexham were
anywhere near safety.
“There is obviously a degree of satisfaction from the results so far,” he said.
“But we have got to remain focused, because after three games where we have done
well, if you throw a defeat on the end of it can be a real set-back.
“We have got to keep working hard and really keep trying to go in the right
direction. We have to defend and keep picking up at least a point from games.
“Three points is a bonus, but we are working hard to make sure we don’t get
beat.”
If Wrexham are to keep up their momentum they face a tough test at fellow
strugglers Dagenham and Redbridge tomorrow, their third away trip on the bounce.
And Little admitted it was key for the Dragons to try and pick something up on
their travels this weekend.
“I didn’t set a target before the three away games in a row,” he added. “Even if
a team was at the top of the league, they would still be looking at three away
games as a tough test.
“We are not setting the team a target of points for the whole season, we are
just going into games trying not to lose, and that has not changed even after
two or three decent results.
“The first big test for this team now will be if they lose a game of football,
and it is how they then bounce back from that.
“My job is to keep the players in the right frame of mind and to keep them
working as hard as they have been. To keep them doing what they have been over
the last couple of games.”
Wrexham earned their first win under Little thanks to a fortuitous goal from
Eifion Williams, profiting from a howler by Bury keeper Jim Provett. However, in
reaching to head home into an empty net the Bangor-born striker pulled his
hamstring and was forced off to be replaced by youngster Marc Williams, a player
who has impressed Little in his short time in charge.
“It was a fluke of a goal,” said Little. “But we will certainly take it. The
nice thing was that even despite the goal the whole of their management admitted
after the game that we were the better team on the night.
“It was a lucky goal, but we will take it and it would be nice to get a few more
like that over the season.
“It is a blow to lose Eifion and I would think he will be out for a few weeks.
“It’s a shame he’s missing now, because scoring would have been a huge boost for
him. But the positive for the team is that he was there to score the goal and
that got us the win.
“Marc came on and did really well. He had a header he may have hoped to have
scored from, but he is very positive and works very hard.
“It just shows that when a new manager comes in – even if you are on the edge of
the first team – if you work hard you will get your chance.
“Then you have to take it, and he is certainly doing enough to earn his place in
the side.”