WREXHAM owner Neville Dickens is backing manager Denis Smith to halt a slide that has seen the club plunge into the bottom reaches of League Two .

And the businessman has urged supporters to keep faith with the Dragons this Saturday when Bristol Rovers visit the Racecourse.

It's little more than three months since Dickens and his business partner Geoff Moss completed a £4m deal to bring the club out of administration, but following a promising start to the season six defeats in seven outings have put Smith's side into free-fall.

But the Racecourse boss is hoping to strengthen his injury-hit squad this week and Dickens insisted the manager's job was not not at risk.

"As far as I'm concerned Denis is in exactly the same situation as he was when we brought the club out of administration and at the moment all he can do is to try and bring in loan players," he said yesterday.

"We said when we came in that it would take time to turn things round, to sell off some land for development to bring some money in and we are pushing ahead with that.

"Making the infrastructure of the club right is the all-important thing and we are steaming ahead with that. At the same time Denis is doing the best job possible with the players he has available and this is not the time to panic.

"We are close to clinching a deal with prospective developers and that will bring in some cash, but we have to be patient. So do the fans and hopefully we'll turn it around.

"If we had been in a position to put the £4m into the club, we would be heading for the Championship, but instead we had to spend that money to save the club from going out of business."

Dickens, who recently submitted plans to relocate his company's Crispin Lane car showroom to Croesfoel, said the objectives outlined at the time of the takeover had not changed.

"We want to see the club free of debt, owning the freehold of both the Racecourse and the training ground and with some cash in the bank, but that's not going to happen overnight," he added.

"And Denis knows exactly what the situation is and he knows that there will be problems. But he is looking to change things as much as he can and with what money he has available. Until such time as he can make major changes, he's looking towards the loan systems as a short-term solution."