Pearson Plotting How Wrexham Will Get Up And Running

The central defender could have done without the reminiscent re-wind thrown his way.

It was on this weekend last year that ruthless Wrexham swept Ebbsfleet United apart. Their four goals on a sun-soaked afternoon in north Wales reeked of class and confidence, a satisfying seventh win took them to 21 points six weeks in.

He even scored that mid-September day. At that point, they seemed in it to win it.

A year on, the Red Dragons have less than half that total on the board. One victory since the opening day, even if it came against then leaders FC Halifax, is hardly something to write home about.

Pearson knows it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

He also knows more than anything that their five-match winless run needs to be ended at home to Sutton United this Saturday, a game live on BT Sport.

“We started very well last season but in the end we didn’t do enough to go up,” he told us ahead of the tea time match.

“What’s to say this time we can’t reverse that? It’s not been the start we wanted, we would ideally have more points on the board, but I have lost count of the times teams begin well then fade away.

“Maybe this time we will come into our own at the other end of the season - that’s when it really matters.

“There may even be a different outcome, who knows. But we need to get a run going.

“We aren’t the only ones who haven’t got off to a great start. There are some well-fancied teams not where they want to be.”

They won’t have it their own way against a Sutton side who themselves have also only taken a point for their last three National League matches.

The south west Londoners have had as many managerial changes in the last decade as Wrexham have had in 2019 alone, but Pearson knows the new-look U’s won’t be any easier to play against.

“Sutton are always one of the most difficult opponents at this level, it’s been that way since they won promotion,” he adds.

“Paul Doswell set them up to be hard to beat, to be athletic and to fight for every ball - it will be interesting to see what they are like under the new manager (Matt Gray) and how they approach things, but they will no doubt have carried that work ethic over.

“We know how much our fans want promotion, it’s been more than ten years out of the Football League now and of course we understand the frustration at the start.

“The players want to end that wait and the only way to do that is by winning matches and climbing the table.”

They may have something in their favour ahead of their return to domestic action.

The Welsh club who play in England have been taking part in the Scottish Challenge Cup.

Last weekend they beat Ayr United on penalties to progress - and boss Bryan Hughes made ten changes.

“We didn’t have a week off as such but many of the players who have played what has been a very busy first five or six weeks didn’t feature,” added Pearson.

“So on the whole we have been able to have a little break - I think that could benefit us.

“I’m sure the manager was pleased with what he saw. It was a great chance to get game time into people, look at some younger players and learn a few things.

“The mood hasn’t been downbeat. In our last game against Maidenhead we played well and only a top class goal prevented us from winning. We didn’t want to be 18th at this stage but that’s where we are and we need to deal with that.

“We’ve got a decent record in front of the TV cameras and we need to make sure we get the atmosphere going and the fans behind us from an early stage.”

Images by Evening Leader & Wrexham AFC