MANAGER Mark Wright has taken the first steps to completely reshaping the squad that has taken the Blues down.
With Laurence Wilson, James Vaughan and Damien Mozika on their way following the club’s relegation and captain Paul Linwood, top-scorer Ryan Lowe and Kevin Ellison set to follow them, Wright is now speaking to the players he wants to spearhead City’s charge for when they return to playing non-league football next season.
The former England defender is confident he can build a team that can challenge for promotion. But he warns it will not be easy to repeat the success he enjoyed five years ago when he led Chester to the Conference title.
“The chairman, Stephen Vaughan, and myself have been working for the last six weeks to a list of players for League Two and the Conference,” said Wright, who is vowing to stay in charge as long as Vaughan remains as owner.
“We’ve done a lot of homework together. We’ve earmarked certain players, spoken to a lot of agents and received a lot of interest from the ilk of players I want here. And, if we could get them, we would be a better side for it.
“We would like to put a side together that will bounce back immediately, but you have to be realistic. The likes of Luton, Oxford, Torquay, Mansfield and Wrexham will probably have three times what our budget is, so our fans have got to be realistic.
“We’ve got to handpick the players who come in, use the loan system and keep the youngsters around us. If we can do that, I think we’d acquit ourselves very well.”
Wright, since returning in November for a third spell as Blues boss, has not been able to sign players because of a Football League-sanctioned transfer embargo imposed on the club for the late payment of players’ wages.
While he has been told that will be lifted, he will not be going down the route of some of his predecessors of bringing in big names on big wages.
“The reality is we’ve got our problems because the chairman has been so enthusiastic,” said Wright. “He’s given players big money, certainly big for a club of this stature, to players who haven’t been paying him back on the football field. So now is the time for the big earners to go.
“People have to put their trust in the chairman and myself, because I can assure them that the players we’ve more or less sorted to come in will give them a surprise. They are good players. But we’ve got to be realistic with our wages, otherwise we’ll get ourselves in the same position.”
A football legends evening featuring Chester City and Everton stars of the past is being held at the Slow Boat restaurant in Chester on Thursday, May 28 (7pm) to raise money for Chester’s Centre of Excellence.
Two days before Everton’s FA Cup final, Ian Snodin and Duncan McKenzie will be joined by comedian Mickey Finn and as yet unnamed former Chester favourites.
Tickets cost £30 and include a Chinese banquet. They can be purchased from the club shop on Watergate Street or by calling 07831213018.
