WREXHAM conceded more than two goals for only the second time this season in a 4-3 defeat at Hartlepool United on Saturday, prompting manager Denis Smith to prescribe more hard work on the training ground in the coming days.

The former Stoke City central defender was unhappy with the uncertainty at the back displayed by his first choice unit of Dan Bennett, Shaun Pejic and Steve Roberts but said there were extenuating circumstances.

Both Pejic and Holmes were away on international duty during the previous week while Bennett made the long round-trip to Singapore to complete his naturalisation process.

"We've been beaten, that's the bottom line," said the Dragons' boss. "We didn't start well but they did and some of their finishing was excellent. We didn't defend very well and I changed it at half-time.

"There's work to be done on defensive things and the preparation has not been right, with the two Shauns and Dan being away. Last weekend, I wasn't happy with the defensive three and today again I didn't think they played as well as they can.

"You have to give Hartlepool credit because they played well and a couple of the finishes were top-class. You have to hold your hands up, but how and why was the lad getting that room? There are things we need to work on, we know that."

Smith admitted that it was not until substitute Hector Sam went on after an hour that his team played to their potential.

"I think we should be up there at the top of the league with Hartlepool," he added. "We expected it to be a close game and in the end we made it close but at one point I was considering putting Brian Carey on in a bid to keep the score down. The other option was to go for it, that's what I decided and it nearly came off.

"I changed the system by putting three up. Hector was, well, Hector. When he's on his game, he is frightening.

"He should have made it 4-4 because he had a chance when he was one on one with the 'keeper but he was very lively and all at once we gave them problems at the back which stretched them. We didn't do that in the first half and we didn't close them down well enough.

"They were bigger and stronger and they won too many important balls in the air in important areas but in the end we could have got something out of it.

"You have to look at the positives. Hector came on and looked lively, Lee Trundle got a goal at last and Lee Jones looked sharp. I tried something different in playing Steve Thomas at wing-back and he did it quite well. He was unlucky to be taken off but you are forever changing it and trying to make it work.

"We have a small, tight squad so you have to see how you can make it work. It proved one thing that in the ten minutes we played 4-4-2, we cannot play that system.

"If we play like we know we can - and in the last half-hour we saw what we would normally expect - we have a chance of doing well in this league. We aren't going to come up against teams like Hartlepool every week and possibly they are the best in the division. Today for an hour they proved that and we had half-an-hour."