Marcus Bignot is hoping his young Chester FC players can thrive in this weekend’s cross-border derby clash at Wrexham.

The struggling Blues make the short trip down the A483 on Sunday (noon) for a televised National League clash against a Dragons side who are hoping to keep their promotion bid on track.

Chester’s 2-0 home loss to Dover Athletic on Tuesday night saw them remain firmly mired in the relegation zone and six points from safety having played more games than those around them.

But this weekend’s clash with the Dragons, which is being shown live on BT Sport, does offer the chance for at least some cheer for Chester fans, although few would back the relegation-threatened Blues to return from North Wales with maximum spoils.

The derby will at least provide some of the Blues’ promising academy graduates the chance to shine on one of the biggest stages non-league football has to offer, with Tom Crawford, James Jones and Matty Waters all pushing for places.

Bignot said: “I’m looking forward to seeing how a Tom Crawford does in that game and how a Matty Waters, a Shaun Hobson and a James Jones perform and how these youngsters perform in that environment. They are certainly learning this year, and they have to learn.

“I would be disappointed if the heart and the desire aren’t there. In terms of knowhow, experience and leadership that comes with games, not age, it comes with games. There are not a lot of games in this team.”

Following Tuesday’s defeat to Dover, Bignot revealed that the average wage of his side was £200 and was keen to accentuate the positives.

He said: “We worked it out that the average price of our team, because there is a lot of players playing for free and a lot of teenagers, the average wage across the team was £200. For a £200 team we certainly went toe to toe with a play-off team in this league.

“One of the aspects for us is that we have zero physicality, that is something we have got to bring into the team and it ain’t going to happen overnight. But we are technically a good team and they are technically good players. They are getting there, so there are a lot of positives.

“We are going in the right direction with what we want to do here. You clearly know what Dover’s identity is, but what is Chester’s?”