WREXHAM'S 5-0 hammering at Tranmere Rovers on Friday, their third defeat in eight days, will surely hasten the departure of manager Brian Flynn from the Racecourse.

And another reverse in tomorrow's home game against fellow second division strugglers Port Vale could be the final act for the long-serving Racecourse boss, just a week after he announced his intention to seek pastures new when his contract expires at the end of the season.

The more likely scenario, though, is for a change at the top following Saturday's match against Peterborough United.

International call-ups for under-21 internationals David Walsh, Steve Thomas with Wales and Northern Ireland's Shaun Holmes will trigger the postponement of the scheduled games against Reading a n d Swindon Town, providing a fortnight's grace for a caretaker appointment to take charge of team affairs.

Wrexham's lowly league position of third from bottom, even at such an early stage of the season, is a major cause for concern.

The club's directors, who turned out in force at Prenton Park, realise they must act quickly to end the uncertainty and Flynn, no stranger to the fluctuating fortunes of football, now privately admits that matters are coming to a head more quickly than he would have anticipated.

But no-one could have legislated for the events in a few second-half moments which transformed Friday's match from a delicately-poised contest into an embarrassingly onesided affair. Having conceded a goal just before the interval, Wrexham were on top and pressing hard for an equaliser, but they were caught napping by striker Stuart Barlow, who transformed proceedings with two quick-fire goals.

"The key moment that changed the course of the game completely was when we had one cleared off the line," said Flynn afterwards. "We were looking as if we could get a goal but within less than two minutes we were 3-0 down. Against a team of that quality they'll make you pay. And that's what they did. They were quality goals but we should have defended better - that's stating the obvious."

The Dragons' boss said he had been reasonably satisfied with his side's performance to that point

"There was an onslaught in the first 15 minutes which we expected," he said. "We defended well in that period, although they threw a lot of people at us, but gradually as the game wore on we started to gain some good possession and an odd threat here or there. They scored a spectacular free-kick but we told the players at halftime not to feel sorry for themselves because we were still in the game. We started the second- half brightly, our passing was crisp, our movement was good and it looked as if we were going to take the game on but that key minute completely changed the course of things."

The two-goal salvo from Barlow, who went on to complete his second hat-trick of the week, completely demoralised Wrexham, as Flynn conceded.

"We then made mistake after mistake and if you give quality players that opportunity they'll take it. The mood is not the greatest in the dressing room after being beaten 5-0. But if there is any consolation, and I'm not deflecting anything, we've been beaten by a good side."

But the Dragons' boss added: "We'll be back building morale, because that's part of our job. We'll lift the players, we'll discuss how we did and the players will have their say, as we always want them to do."