Tipton out?
Wrexham previews

He has been told to take it easy and will again be checked over before the game at Boundary Park. Although Tipton has made only five starts this season, manager Andy Ritchie will want him on the bench as Athletic bid to improve the home form which is keeping them in the bottom half of the table. Ritchie says their home record — three wins, one draw and five defeats — isn't a true reflection of their displays. 

But he acknowledged that more was needed from players who seem inhibited in front of their own supporters. "We have to start being more positive," Ritchie said. "We have begun doing that in the last few games, but I want to see more of it. "I think we have been better at home this season than last but without getting the results we deserve. "If you don't perform as the fans think you should, they are entitled to have a little go. "To be honest, we have to block all those things out and concentrate on producing the form we are showing in away games." 

Craig Dudley, who missed the draw at Bristol City on Tuesday, will have a late test on his thigh injury. But Richard Graham is again ruled out as Athletic are giving him more time to recover fully from strained back muscles. 

ATHLETIC (from): Kelly, Rickers, Holt, S McNiven, Hotte, Garnett, Sheridan, Duxbury, Innes, Allott, Whitehall, Futcher, Jones, Walsh, Tipton, Dudley, Miskelly. Wrexham have doubts over Steve Roberts, Craig Faulconbridge, Robin Gibson and goalkeeper Kevin Dearden but are confident that all four will be fit. If Dearden does not make it, 19-year-old Welsh youth international David Walsh will come in for his debut. 

WREXHAM (from): Dearden, McGregor, Carey, S Roberts, Hardy, Russell, Owen, Ferguson, Williams, Connolly, Faulconbridge, N Roberts, Barrett, Gibson, Ridler, Walsh. Athletic have terminated the contract of first-year professional Adam Pashley. The defender — who is the son of former Burnley, Blackpool and Bury full-back Terry — is the fifth youngster to leave this week as Athletic trim their wage bill. 

Wrexham breed new generation of hot-shots

WREXHAM’S recent past has been one of unlikely heroes and stars who fell to earth. The Welsh side, who visit Boundary Park tomorrow, have been tapping a goal supply from the sources they did not expect. Last season, promotion hopes were high thanks to one of the most ambitious signings in the club’s history. Ian Rush may have been well into his thirties when he signed as player-coach, but it was only to be expected that his arrival was accompanied by great fanfares. Here, after all, was a soccer legend. In his extraordinary career at Liverpool, Rush scored 229 goals in the league alone. He also played for Leeds and Newcastle, notched a record 28 goals in 73 caps for Wales and had a spell in Italy where, incidentally, he produced one of the all-ti e great quotes — “It’s like playing in a foreign country.” Yet when Rush dropped into the second division, his scoring touch deserted him completely. He failed to hit a single goal in a terribly anti-climactic season and left The Racecourse during the summer.

Bearing Rush’s flop in mind, Wrexham desperately needed someone to carry the goalscoring burden. And they found him in the shape of Karl Connolly. While Rush had played for Juventus, Connolly was signed from Napoli — a Liverpool Sunday League club he turned out for while working in a chip shop. The striker was already well established at Wrexham but several observers thought that last season, in which he found the net 17 times, was his best to date. During the summer, manager Brian Flynn signed two more strikers with impressive records — Carlisle hitman Ian Stevens and Wigan’s record league scorer, David Lowe. Stevens has been injured, but Lowe has never taken to his new surroundings and admits he isn’t surprised to be out of the first-team picture altogether. So Wrexham have again relied on their less-heralded forwards to keep them out of the danger zone. This time, those men have been Neil Roberts and Craig Faulconbridge. Roberts (21) has impressed enough to earn his first full Welsh cap this season, while Coventry cast-off Faulconbridge is leading the scoring charts with seven. He was given a trial in the Isle of Man tournament won by Athletic in the summer and, despite being kept on the bench for several games, has made pleasing progress. After a decade in charge, Flynn is now the longest-serving manager in Wrexham’s history. In the whole of the Football League, he is second only to Crewe’s Dario Gradi. He is assisted by Kevin Reeves and Joey Jones, who is still the club’s record signing a full 21 years after costing £210,000 from Liverpool. Even though that large pool of football knowledge could only bring 17th place last season, all three are under contract well into the next century.

And, with so much experience to call upon, it is no surprise to find that Flynn seems to have a firm belief about management, namely that a club which stands still will soon be overtaken by its rivals. In a concerted bid to avoid that fate, he has carried out a recruitment drive since his side last met Athletic, back in April. As well as adding to the forwards, Flynn took care of his last line of defence by signing Brentford goalkeeper Kevin Dearden on a free transfer. Wales under-21 midfielder Danny Williams arrived from Liverpool, while Wayne Phillips returned after a spell with Stockport. Darren Ferguson, the former Manchester United midfield man and the son of Sir Alex, has also joined the club since leaving Dutch outfit Sparta Rotterdam. Ferguson will, no doubt, be given a particularly warm welcome tomorrow by the Boundary Park faithful.