DENIS Smith says he will need a settled defence before he can turn Wrexham into a force on the road, writes Paul Wheelock.

The Dragons go to Bristol Rovers on Saturday in search of their first away win of the season.

So far, Smith's side have picked up just three points on their travels.

The boss believes a big reason for that has been his inability to name a regular back-three.

Centre-halves Shaun Pejic, Dave Bayliss, Dennis Lawrence, Andy Holt, Paul Warhurst and Paul Linwood have all spent time on the sidelines, meaning Smith has had to regularly shuffle his trio of stoppers.

But once they get some consistency at the back, he's confident his team will start picking up away points.

Smith, who will be inducted into the Official Supporters' Association Hall of Fame tomorrow, said: 'We want to get out of this division as soon as possible, and to do that we will have to start doing better away from home.

'I thought we started well in our first few away games. We looked solid but at the same time we were struggling to score goals.

'We've solved that problem but now we seem to be letting a few in, which is a lot to do with the ridiculous amount of injuries we've had at the back.

'I've not been able to regularly pick the same lads. That's important away from home because teams are going to come at you a lot more, so it's crucial to have a settled de-fence.

'But hopefully we're coming to the end of the injuries.'

However, as the Mail was going to press, Smith's defensive options remained stretched as Wrexham prepared to begin their defence of the LDV Vans Trophy at Blackpool on Tuesday night.

Warhurst (ankle) and Holt (hip) have been carrying knocks while impressive loanee Linwood has been recalled by Tranmere Rovers.

However, Warhurst and Holt should be fit for the trip to Bristol Rovers. And as Pejic is making steady progress from his cruciate knee ligament injury, the manager said he's not looking to bring in another defender on loan.

Wrexham are 10th in League Two following their 4-2 win over Torquay United on Saturday.

The victory maintained their superb home record which, along with Rochdale, is the best in League Two.

In contrast, their away return is one of the worst. But Saturday's hosts Rovers have only won once in six attempts on home soil, so this may be the ideal opportunity for the Reds to break their duck.

Wrexham travel to Peterborough United on Tuesday night.