This weekend sees Chester FC come up against their arch rivals Wrexham in the hotly-contested cross-border derby.
Having enjoying the bragging rights for much of the season due to their loftier position in the Vanarama National League, Blues fans will be hoping that Saturday brings more cheer for the home faithful as the Dragons arrive at the Lookers Vauxhall Stadium (3pm).
While Wrexham have struggled for much of the campaign, there are now some signs of life under new manager Dean Keates.
Keates took over from former boss Gary Mills in October after he paid for a poor start to the season and poor summer recruitment.
Wrexham come into the game on the back of three wins in their last four games and we caught up with Rob Griffiths, Dragons reporter for the Chronicle's sister paper the Daily Post, to get the lowdown on what to expect.
It’s been a campaign of struggle so far for Wrexham. What’s gone wrong?
Where do we start? Essentially it all stems from the high turn over of players from the summer.
Former boss Gary Mills ripped up the squad that finished just outside the play-offs and elected to start all over again. He offered contracts to seven players – only three of which re-signing.
It meant he needed to rebuild a squad, gel them together and have them firing on all cylinders in a short space of time.
Another point is that a number of players Mills brought to the club where simply not good enough, or have not performed (depending on how kind you want to be to either players or manager).
Dean Keates has come in and seems to have improved things. What’s changed?
Dean steadied the ship first and foremost. He brought a renewed sense of togetherness amongst the squad, but crucially he has moved to offload a lot of the players that he saw were surplus to requirements.
He has brought in four new faces in the last fortnight to offer much needed experience through the spine of the side.
Relegation was a real worry a few weeks ago. Have things improved enough to ease those worries?
I think it is still a real worry now to be honest. Things have improved, their performances have improved, and their standing in the table has improved, but Wrexham still know the hard work is not done.
Heading into the derby Wrexham have a 12 point cushion over the bottom four. While they have worked hard to ensure this gap, make no mistake Keates and the squad know there is still lot more that needs to be done to ensure mathematical safety.
This is the first time for many a year that Wrexham go into a derby beneath Chester in the league. Do you think they will have more of a point to prove this time around?
Let’s just hope it is a better game than the first meeting in September. I don’t know if Wrexham will have a point to prove, they will want to win the game to continue their mini-revival in form, but also to give the fans a little extra cheer in what has been a shocking season.
Who is likely to pose a threat?
Perhaps an obvious choice but the biggest threat for Wrexham will be Izale McLeod.
The experienced striker joined Wrexham less than a fortnight ago, has played only two games, but has already made a huge impact in his short stint.
But while McLeod is an obvious choice, I wold also warn of the threat from youngster Ntumba Massanka. The on loan Burnley youngster showed a huge amount of potential in a late cameo on Saturday and could prove to be a genuine matchwinner.
How does Dean Keates like to set his stall out?
Keates tends to prefer a 4-4-2, but with a diamond in the midfield.
It is something that has brought varying degrees of success, but after bolstering his ranks last week with experienced midfielder Russell Penn to fill the holding role, it is a formation that should provide a lot of chances for the front two.
What are you expecting and what do you think the outcome will be?
Just let’s hope it is better than the first meeting between these two old foes this season – as bad a 0-0 draw as you are likely to ever witness.
I’d like to think Wrexham can continue their current up turn in form, but in honesty I think a lot of fans would accept (however begrudgingly) a draw. So with that in mind I will opt for a 2-2 draw.
