By RICHARD WILLIAMS
28 December 2007
BRIAN
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.