Wrexham Evening Leader

You're better than this!

By RICHARD WILLIAMS

28 December 2007

Brian LittleBRIAN LITTLE today spoke of the frustration at seeing talented players failing to perform at Wrexham.

Rock bottom Wrexham go into tomorrow's match against Stockport County at The Racecourse (3pm) on the back of four consecutive defeats.

Boxing Day's 2-0 reversal against Rochdale, coupled with Mansfield Town's surprise win against highflying Peterborough United, saw the Reds fall to the foot of the table.

And Little is disappointed his team have not been performing to the level he knows they are capable of.

"I speak to people in football who ring me and they ask how it's going," said Little today.

"I say the players are really good on the training ground. They are good to work with but when you stick them out on the field where it really matters – that is when you find out about people.

"At the moment, there are a few falling behind in that category.

"It is aggravating to watch a group of players who have talent but are not able to produce it at the place they should be able to produce it.

"We have not seen a true reflection of some players in the last few games."

Little, disappointed with the outcome of Wrexham's last two matches at The Racecourse, said his players are feeling the pressure of being in the relegation zone, is calling on his players to rally against Stockport County – and at Chesterfield on New Year's Day – before he looks to bolster his squad when the transfer window reopens in January,

"One or two players are finding it hard to produce that gritty determination," said Little. "My determination is still with the job in hand, I am looking for people to follow me.

"I am not hiding behind any false beliefs. The last two home games have disappointed me because we are better than that.

"The manner in which we have handled certain situations has been poor. We could have been braver and stronger, not in terms of tackles, but in our mentality in certain situations.

"That is what pressure does to you. It is tough when you are at the bottom and when you are under pressure you find out about people.

"But we have to dig in and find the right spirit for the next two games before I try and liven things up."

Little, who has been in charge of the Reds for seven games and has amassed five points in that time, admitted that return is below what he had set out to pick-up.

"We are a few points behind where I wanted us to be and have fallen behind our target," he added.

"I wanted us to be just outside the bottom two if possible going into the New Year but it does not look like that will happen now.

"The situation we are in is not good but it could have been worse – the win against Bury was a massive result.

"We have now got a home game tomorrow which we have got to go and try to get something from."

Little keeps faith with the squad of players who have been on duty in recent weeks.

"We need to keep them together and stay strong," added Little. "The more senior players have to bear the brunt of the fight at this time, the better."

WREXHAM (from): Anthony Williams, Valentine, Steve Evans, Hope, Taylor, Mark Jones, Spann, Aiston, Proctor, Roberts, Llewellyn, Johnson, Pejic, Mike Williams, Gareth Evans, Robbie Garrett, Michael Jones.