WREXHAM rode the currents at a gale-swept Racecourse on Saturday to stay within touching distance of the Second Division play-offs at the expense of promotion rivals Swindon Town.

But it's becoming increasingly obvious that the ambitions of manager Denis Smith and his players are viewed with scepticism by an apathetic public, who by and large seem to have turned their backs on the only organisation that confers on the town and the surrounding area an instantly recognisable status across the United Kingdom.

Fewer than 3,000 locally-based Dragons fans - an average Nationwide Conference crowd nowadays - turned out for what proved to be an exciting and unpredictable contest at the business end of the table.

But whatever the next few weeks hold, Wrexham simply cannot survive on such threadbare gates, let alone provide their loyal fans with the hope of emulating the likes of Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United at a higher level of football.

The fault lies partly with Racecourse chairman Mark Guterman - who has consistently failed to reassure the club's following that he has learned from his experience at Chester City - and it has to be said that the recently-publicised bridge-building exercise with supporters' groups has come a little late in the day.

It is Guterman's autocratic management style that prompted the recent revelations about the club's precarious financial state and it's fair to say there are still a lot of unanswered questions, which may or may not account for such miserable backing from the North Wales public.

But last season's run-in to an unexpected promotion suggests that the majority of floating voters are not so much interested in internal politics as watching a winning team and, as Smith observed after the final whistle, the stay-aways missed a highly-entertaining encounter.

With the strong wind at their backs from the start, Wrexham were in Swindon territory immediately, Chris Armstrong, Steve Thomas and Chris Llewellyn trying their luck before the visitors' dangerman Tommy Mooney forced on-loan goal-keeper Mike Ingham to concede a corner in the 11th minute.

But it was an isolated incident and the home side continued to dominate, so it was no real surprise when they went ahead in the 24th minute.

Captain Darren Ferguson, leading by example in closing down the opposition, for once had time on the ball to thread his pass inside a defender and Llewellyn ran on to beat Rhys Evans with a crisp shot.

Former Swindon player Paul Edwards was a prominent threat for the Dragons, making several excellent forays down the left flank but for all their possession, Wrexham were unable to build on their lead, mainly due to the fortitude of central defender Matt Heywood, who won virtually everything in the air and was ably supported by his colleagues at the back.

The interval said much about the pessimism of Wrexham fans, considered opinion favouring high-flying Swindon to turn the elements to their advantage, and that theory was given credence within three minutes of the restart when Sammy Igoe drilled in a shot from 20 yards, following the home side's failure to deal adequately with a corner.

Given their most recent history, the Dragons might have been expected to live on their nerves but the opposite was the case as the crowd, for a change, got behind them.

Brian Carey, again immense at the back, went close to restoring the lead within two minutes from a Ferguson free-kick and, as the home side maintained their momentum, Swindon were undone by the goal of the game.

From the centre circle Thomas swept the ball wide to Paul Edwards, who in turn supplied Llewellyn and, although his early low centre was too pacy for Armstrong, Carlos Edwards popped up at the far post to sidefoot home.

Swindon, denied the strength of the wind that had been behind their opponents previously, were nevertheless enjoying the lion's share of possession and Sam Parkin reminded everyone of the threat they posed with a shot on the turn which whistled narrowly wide of Ingham's goal.

But it was the home side who struck the decisive blow on 68 minutes, with Llewellyn, excellent throughout, again involved.

He flicked the ball on for Armstrong who, under pressure from a defender, laid the ball off to the lurking Thomas and the midfield man's left-footed shot flew into the bottom corner of the net.

Game over it should have been but the wind had another trick to play with 13 minutes remaining. Igoe's 77th-minute corner arrowed into the six-yard box where Ingham was waiting to collect but the ball deviated and Danny Gurney's head did the rest.

The situation begged for caution from the home side but they could not resist their cavalier instincts and went in search of another killer goal, much to the alarm of the home crowd.

And their boldness almost produced dividends, substitute Matty Crowell twice going close to scoring a spectacular effort, Llewellyn heading a good chance over the bar and Thomas forcing a fine save from the Swindon keeper with what was virtually the last kick of the game.

Former Wales under-21 international Thomas was delighted with only his second goal of the season, which gave the Dragons their two-goal cushion midway through the second half.

"I don't remember too much about it to be honest," he said. "Chris Armstrong got the ball into the box and I appealed for a free-kick because the defender was kicking him from behind but luckily their player touched the ball away.

"I was on it like a flash. It went into the bottom corner and I was just glad to see it go in.

"It was a much-needed win, especially in view of how the last couple of weeks have gone. You can see why Swindon have been on a good run because they put themselves about and they've got a couple of good strikers.

"But I thought we handled them well enough, although we conceded a couple of scrappy goals from our point of view. Obviously we'll have to sort that out on the training ground to make sure it doesn't happen again but I felt we were comfortable, to be honest.

"The wind was difficult, particularly for the goalkeepers, but it wasn't too bad and I've played in worse conditions. The gaffer said if we didn't get the result we'd probably end up in mid-table, so it was important - and now we are right back in it."

WREXHAM: Ingham; Roberts, Carey, Lawrence; C Edwards, Whitley (Crowell 63), Ferguson, Thomas, P Edwards; Llewellyn, Armstrong. Subs: Whitfield, Holmes, L Jones, Morgan.

SWINDON TOWN: Evans; O'Hanlon, Hewlett, Gurney, Igoe, Mooney, Parkin, Duke, Nicholas, Howard (Fallon 71), Heywood. Subs: Grieming, Pook, Smith, Reeves. BOOKINGS: Gurney, Igoe.

REFEREE: Mike Pike ATT: 3,384