British Steel Challenge

Another busy month with 7 games to play, 5 league games and 2 cup games, with 5 of the games being back at the Racecourse.



We began the month on New Years Day by welcoming Alfreton to Wales. In a poor game, with only one shot on target by both teams, Brett Omerod managed to score the only goal of the game 4 minutes after the restart.

We then welcomed Stockport to the Racecourse, and we raced into a 2-0 lead courtesy of first half goals from Derek Doyle, the first coming from the penalty spot after 2 minutes, the second from a cross which he thumped into the back of the net 5 minutes before the break. Stockport pulled one back just before the break but had rarely threatened during the first half, so I was very disappointed when we firstly failed to score in the second half, and secondly conceded 6 minutes from time, resulting in a 2-2 draw. I was not happy that my players had let a 2 goal lead slip, and wanted to make sure that it didn't happen again.

Our next game was a trip to Macclesfield and after falling behind to a 3rd minute goal, the players responded magnificently, with Max Porter equalising 2 minutes later. George Donnelly put us ahead on 38 minutes, however as the match wore on, Macclesfield became more and more dangerous, equalising in the 78th minute. Another fantastic response to conceding saw my lads restore our lead 3 minutes later, again through Max Porter, and a hard earned 3 points were secured.

We then welcomed Braintree in the FA Trophy 3rd round, and a bright start saw us score in the 2nd minute through Hamza Bencherif. In a very one-sided game, where Braintree rarely threatened, we were unable to find that second goal to really kill the game off until the very last minute of the game, when Andy Frampton toe-poked in from a corner. We had won the game 2-0 and we drew AFC Hornchurch in the quarter-finals.

A hard fought home victory against Ebbsfleet followed, with very few highlights other than George Donnelly's 87th minute winner, and registering his 10th of the season since his loan move 3 months previously, kept our fine run of form going.

We then traveled to AFC Hornchurch as one of only 3 Blue Square Bet Premier teams left in the competition, hoping that we could avoid an upset, and progress through to the semi-finals. In a dull first half, neither side was able to find a breakthrough until a great cutback by George Donnelly allowed Robert Ogleby to slot in at the back post. Once we had taken the lead, I very much doubted that we would lost it, and in-fact our lead was extended by 2 goals in the last 15 minutes from Hamza Bencherif, giving us a 3-0 victory and propelling us into the semi-finals where we would meet Port Vale.

Our final game of the month saw the Welsh derby occur, as we welcomed Newport County to Wrexham, and a resounding performance including a brace from George Donnelly and a late injury time goal from Martin Riley ensured that we came out on top, further extending our unbeaten run for another month and leaving us looking really good in the table, with every chance to possibly catch Kidderminster and win the title.



With 13 games to play we are currently 9 points behind Kidderminster who sit in first, and with a cup semi-final to play in as well, this could be a very good season for us, and could enable us to tick off 2 of our trophies in one go!

February was arguably one of the most important months of the season so far, even if it wasn't the busiest. We were playing five games, playing Port Vale in three of them. The other two was our fierce local derby with Chester, and a game against AFC Telford.



We started the month off well, beating Port Vale in the first of the three games we would be playing against them in the coming weeks, George Donnelly putting us ahead in the 11th minute, and then we pulled 2-0 up in injury time through an own goal. Less than a minute later it was back to 2-1 as a penalty was awarded, and although the keeper was able to stop the original shot, he was hapless to the rebound. Fortunately with it being so late on in the game, the penalty was the final kick of the game and we took a well earned victory with us.

A game against local rivals Chester was up next, and our unbeaten run finally came to an end. They scored a bizarre goal just before half time, the goalkeeper kicking it into an advancing attacker and it bouncing into the net, and we were unable to reply. With defeat went our chances realistically of being able to catch Kidderminster at the top of the table, who after this defeat pulled 12 points clear.

The next game was the first leg of the FA Trophy and our second game of the month against Port Vale. In a very tight opening half an hour, both teams feeling each other out, and very few chances. Jay Harris then got himself sent off for two bookable offenses in the 34th minute, and from the resulting free-kick we fell behind. Despite being down to 10 men, we still performed admirably, having our fair share of chances, but of course the main aim was to just limit the amount of damage, and take a 1-0 deficit back to the Racecourse for the second leg which we managed to accomplish.

A league game fell inbetween the two legs, against AFC Telford. With some key players being rested for the all important second leg we began slowly, going in at the break level. A fantastic Robert Ogleby goal 3 minutes after the restart gave us a 1-0 lead and a Hamza Bencherif goal 20 minutes later sealed the victory for us.

The second leg of the semi final against Port Vale was next, and needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit left us needing to go out and attack. It took a lot longer than anticipated to get the first goal, having to wait until 4 minutes from half-time for it to happen, the goal coming through Derek Doyle. The lead didn't last for long, with a soft penalty being awarded and converted right on the stroke of half-time. With us still needing a goal, tactical changes were made, and I sent them out looking for that all important one goal, to at least take the tie to extra time as a minimum. The goal came through Brett Omerod 20 minutes from time, following a marvelous mazy run past 4 or 5 defenders before burying it into the corner from 18 yards out. We pushed on trying to find a winner, but were unable to, and the tie went to extra time. With no goals and very few chances in extra time, the inevitability of penalties arrived. We were to take first and Derek Doyle buried the first. Tom Pope stepped up to take their first one, and he missed! Following us grabbing an advantage in the shootout, we made no mistake, eventually coming out on top as 5-3 winners on penalties, and getting through to the final where we would face Forest Green.



A look at the league table at the end of the month didn't show much difference other than that Kidderminster would have to have a major crisis if they were to relinquish the title, meaning that I was more than likely going to have to gain promotion through the play-offs yet again.

Interesting choice to switch to Wrexham but certainly doing well, tonbridge have now slipped away unfortunately!

Yeah I know, shame about Tonbridge, but at least they are almost certainly not going to get relegated. The squad at Wrexham was just under-performing before I took them over, and despite it taking a little bit of time to get my tactics working, they have performed really well recently!

March brought six of our remaining ten league games, and if we really wanted to push on a challenge Kidderminster, we needed to go back to the form we had been showing over the past couple of months. Unfortunately that was not the case, as our patchy form continued, one week seemingly world beaters, and the following week putting in a pathetic performance.



First game of the month was against under-achieving Grimsby who we should have beaten comfortably. We fell behind in the 15th minute, and although we equalised through Hamza Bencherif in the 31st minute, for the remainder of the game we were unable to find the back of the net, despite massively outplaying them, and we were held to a 1-1 draw. Not the best start to the month if we wanted to catch Kidderminster.

A 4-0 demolition of play-off rivals Barnet followed with first half goals from Brett Ormerod and a Derek Doyle penalty saw us go in at the break with a 2-0 advantage. Barnet rarely threatened in the second half and we were able to extend our advantage further, when 2 goals in three minutes arrived towards the end of the game thanks to Neal Trotman and a second goal from Derek Doyle seeing us romp home as 4-0 victors.

An interesting encounter next saw us travel away to Forest Green who would be our opponents in the FA Trophy final the following month, so it was a real opportunity for us to signal a statement of intent with regards to that final, however we were unable to, falling behind to a 34th minute goal, before Brett Ormerod equalised for us 6 minutes later. Jay Harris got himself sent off in the second half for two bookable offences, and it looked very unlikely that we would be able to get three points from the game following that, and we held on for a draw. Not the statement of intent we had hoped for, but with a few games still to play between now and the final, we hoped we would be able to go into it on top form, which we quite clearly had not been on during the game.

A poor 1-0 loss to Luton followed, the players looking very lacklustre and also suffering from a small selection crisis, with Jay Harris supsended and Derek Doyle injured, it left us with very few options in midfield, and it really showed, the players unable to get hold of the game at any point throughout the match, falling behind in the 14th minute, and rarely looking as though they would equalise.

A good 2-0 victory against Havant & Waterlooville followed up, and it was positive to see George Donnelly's name on the scoresheet once again, having gone 8 games without a goal, scoring midway through the first half. Neil Ashton doubled our advantage 5 minutes later and in a game which we controlled looked extremely comfortable and very unlikely to concede.

The final game of the month saw us travel away to Barrow, and also brought up my 100th game in management.



The only goal of the game in a tight 1-0 victory was a Hamza Bencherif strike from 25 yards out right on the stroke of halftime.

100 games into the challenge and we were on the verge of getting two more trophies to tick off the list, but there would still be 33 to go, the size of the challenge at this point seems huge and I am beginning to doubt whether I will be able to achieve it, however we will carry on and give it our best shot! After 100 games my manager stats looked like this



I was happy with having won more than half of the games I have been in charge for, and I was also pleased to see that my teams were averaging over a goal a game also, but enough about me, there is a league title on the line!



The league table looked like this and the end of march, and with only 4 games to go, Kidderminster were within a point of claiming the title. I needed a miracle to go on a win the title now, but my focus was on ensuring we remained in the second spot we currently occupied and concentrate on picking up the form for the FA Trophy final as well as the inevitable play-off matches.

Well done on 100 games mate, so many careers on here dont even reach that! Still in the hunt for a nice double!

April was upon us, and the final four league games of the season. Although it was incredibly unlikely we would be able to catch Kidderminster we wanted to do everything we could to heap the pressure on.



We started off the month away at Dartford and it looked as though we were going to lose our chance of winning the title at the very first hurdle, having to wait until the 86th minute for Brett Ormerod to bury home a penalty to give us the lead. He added a second in injury time to flatter us with a scoreline of 2-0.

An away game against Braintree was next, and a fantastic start saw Brett Ormerod score after 11 seconds, becoming a new record for Wrexham and to give us a 1-0 lead.



We were pegged back 4 minutes later by some poor defending, but a Neal Trotman goal in the 22nd minute restored our lead. We went in at the break leading 2-1 and in a poor second half, with the first real opportunity, Braintree pulled level in the 71st minute. A substitution was made with about 10 minutes left, and super sub George Ogleby got the winner with practically his first touch giving us a deserved 3-2 victory.

A home game against troubled Tamworth saw us run out 3-0 victors thanks to a brace from Brett Ormerod who had hit a fine run of form towards the end of the season and a third from defender Mark Creighton saw Tamworth relegated and destined to be playing Blue Square Bet North football the following season.

In our final league game of the season, we welcomed Woking to the Racecourse, and in a poor game, which neither team was able to dominate, the only goal of the game came through an Elvijs Putnins own goal in the 9th minute.

The final league table looked like this, with us finishing just 6 points behind Kidderminster which was a great achievement considering where we were when I took over the club.



We had managed to guarantee ourselves a play-off place, where we would face Barnet in the semi-final. In the first leg, away from home, we fell behind to a goal in the 11th minute, but Brett Ormerod continued his fine goalscoring form, pulling us level in the 63rd minute, ensuring that it would be all to play for in the second leg.

The second leg was a very tight affair, both sides playing with caution, not wanting to fall behind, and it looked as though the tie would be heading to extra time, until Derek Doyle popped up 6 minutes from time to bury home a late goal and an almost certain winner for us! We won the game 1-0 and the tie 2-1, and had made it through to the final! We were to face Luton in the final, a team which we had actually failed to beat during the season, so it looked as though it would be a tough ask to beat them and guarantee promotion, but we also had the FA Trophy final at Wembley to look forward to as well in May, so it was an important month for us!

So with only 2 games to play this month, and both of the games being massively important, it was vital that we kept morale and form high going into them.

The first game of the month was the FA Trophy final, where we would face Forest Green at Wembley. The first half was a very tight affair, with very few chances falling to either team and the score remained goalless and half-time. With a rousing half-time team talk, the team went out and completely destroyed the opposition in the second half, starting it brilliantly with a goal from Brett Ormerod almost immediately from the kick off. A second from Derek Doyle extended our lead 7 minutes later and we were looking extremely comfortable. Two goals from Adrian Cieslewicz coming in the 61st and 89th minutes added gloss to what had been a fantastic second half performance and we lifted the FA Trophy, ticking off the first of two possible trophies we could this season.




Our final game of the season saw us take on Luton in the play-off final, again at Wembley and we started much the brighter of the two teams, with Adrian Cieslewicz having a shot cleared off the line and George Donnelly rattling the crossbar in the first 15 minutes. We finally took the lead in the 28th minute, George Donnelly making no mistake as he slotted past the keeper. He extended our lead further right on the stroke of half-time, ensuring we went in at the break with a two goal cushion. The second half was a tight affair with Luton having changed to an attacking formation, and they were really piling the pressure on. A glorious opportunity for George Donnelly to grab his hat-trick came and went, missing with a header from 4 yards out, but we were able to hold on for the victory and confirm that we would be playing League Two football next season!




A fantastic achievement by the players to turn the season around, particularly at certain points when it didn't look like it would be possible. Although we didn't do too well in the FA Cup losing in the first round to Kidderminster, overall it had been a fantastic season with us managing to pick up the two trophies we had set out to achieve at the beginning of the season.

The club were in a good financial position overall as well, making a nearly £70k profit over the course of the season, and with a healthy £380k sitting in the bank. With us back in the leagues now as well, this was only likely to improve over the course of the coming season.

Top season buddy! doing well now, is that your third trophy?

Yeah, trophies 2 and 3 ticked off. Just doing the preseason update now so expect that soon!

So we went into the preseason needing to significantly strengthen the squad if we were to have any chance of staying up this season. I immediately started scouring the the free transfer market to try and find the best players available to me, and tried not to spend the transfer budget I had been given. I freed up some space for wages by releasing no fewer than 28 players, a majority of them however youth and reserve team players that didn't have any sort of future at the club. The only big names to leave were: Brett Ormerod, who despite having the potential to still be useful, paying high wages for a bit-part player did not seem the best thing to do. Max Porter was also shown the door due to his high wages and not being good enough for the squad. Neil Ashton was also released as he had fallen down the pecking order following some new arrivals, and Andy Frampton retired following a playing career of 17 years, and having been at Wrexham for 2 seasons.



On the incoming transfer's, we added 10 players to the sqaud, and also made 2 loan signings. The most promising signing being that of young striker Craig Moore who I have high expectations of to make a big impact this season, and at £35k, a considerable talent for npower League Two!



Other players to come in included young Jeffrey Monakannaa who looks very promising indeed, Leon Clarke to provide some experience and he can still do a job at this level, and promising young defender Michael Hector, bought from Reading for £35k as well.





Following all transfer dealings, the squad depth looked a lot better than it had done the previous season, with a real potential for perhaps even achieving slightly higher than anticipated!



I only had 2 preseason fixtures arranged due to the earliness of the league starting, combined with a training camp that the squad went on at the beginning of preseason. Although both these games were against much lesser opposition, it gave the squad an opportunity to begin to gel together and to get a bit of confidence together going into the new season.



The first preseason game saw us travel to Buckley and 4 goals from George Donnelly in the first half had the game won for us before 30 minutes had been played. After changing almost the entire team at half time, we grabbed a 5th in injury time as Ken Howard put one into his own net.

The second preseason game saw us travel to Cefn Druids and a resounding 3-0 victory, goals from Jeffrey Monakana, George Donnelly and loan signing Joe Bryan saw us finish preseason on a high and ready for the league to begin.



The club's finances were also looking in good shape as we headed into the season, £4k under the wage budget, and likely to make a tidy profit over the season.

Looks like you've got a very good goalkeeper and financial status at the club mate!

Yeah the goalkeeper is pretty good, have just had trouble keeping hold of him, that's all!

The league campaign kicked off in August with us facing 6 games during the course of the month.



We started the campaign off by welcoming Chesterfield the the Racecourse, and we fell behind to an Emile Heskey goal just before the half-hour mark. In a game that we had dominated, having twice as many shots and 3 clear cut chances, we were unable to find the back of the net, until Leon Clarke scored with only 2 minutes remaining to ensure our campaign didn't start off with a defeat.

A Capital One Cup game followed against Coventry, a game which we were not expected to win due to the gulf in class between the two sides. This showed in the game, and the scoreline reflected it, going down 3-1, with the only consolation being a debut goal for Michael Hector. It was never going to be a competition we were going to advance very far in, but it would have been nice to have got a draw against a big club and provide some extra money for the club.

Back to the league, and an away game against Oxford, where again we dominated proceedings, but just failed to find the back of the net, with the game ending 0-0. Not too bad a start to the campaign, but we needed to start picking up some wins soon.

An away game against Brentford was up next, and we went ahead through a Neal Trotman goal from a corner midway through the first half. Just after the restart we were pegged back, and it looked as though it would end a draw until George Donnelly grabbed a winner for us in injury time, managing to injure himself in the process resulting in him missing 3-4 weeks unfortunately.

An early lead was taken away at Hereford through a 7th minute goal from Craig Moore, and it remained 1-0 until midway through the second half, when Hereford grabbed an equaliser. A substitution was made, and minutes after coming on, Adrian Cieslewicz grabbed a second to restore our advantage. A third came from Leon Clarke in injury time to ensure there would be no way back for The Bulls

Our final game of the month saw us back at the Racecourse to welcome Exeter. As a young boy myself (I don't remember this but have been told it!) I used to watch the Exeter games out the window of our house which overlooked the pitch, so facing them I had mixed emotions, of course wanting to get the win, but also wanting Exeter to do well. The only goal of the game came through a 20 yard Phillip Lowry thunderbolt 15 minutes from time to ensure we took all 3 points.

A good opening month in the league, going unbeaten and the only disappointment being the premature exit in the Capital One Cup, however as September came, we had a Johnstone Paint Trophy tie against Leeds United to look forward to, as well as attempting to keep our good league form going.

A busy month for us saw us play 7 games in all, starting with a home game against Leeds United in the Johnstone Paint Trophy.



In a close game, where we successfully managed to shut down most of their creativity, we unluckily fell behind to what can only be described as a piece of brilliance by Marcus Tudgay who on a mazy run, strolled past 3 defenders before placing the ball past the keeper just after the half hour. We continued to cause a threat though, and Leon Clarke bagged an equaliser for us 16 minutes from time. The game ended 1-1, and immediately went straight to penalties, where we took the advantage following the second round of penalties after Diaby missed. Adrian Cieslewicz had the chance to win it for us with the last penalty, but unfortunately it was saved and we went to sudden death, but with Mark Creighton scoring and Zac Thompson sending the ball wide, we had achieved an unlikely victory over Leeds and advanced to the next round, where we would face Accrington.

Onto the league games, and we suffered our first defeat of the season to the hands of Stevenage. After extremely fortuitously going 2-0 up through two Leon Clarke goals, with our only 2 shots on target during the match, Stevenage all of a sudden found their scoring boots and scored 3 in the last half an hour, although they did deserve to win the match, completely outplaying us over the course of the 90.

A home game against Crawley was next, and we returned to winning ways, where George Ogleby poked the first in on 13 minutes, followed by a Leon Clarke goal 4 minutes before half-time and then the goal of the game, where Adrian Cieslewicz picked the ball up on the half-way line and breezed past 2 players before burying the ball into the top corner of the net to give us a very pleasing 3-0 victory.

A tight affair against Bristol Rovers, where we were perhaps fortunate to come away with a win was next, Phillip Lowry grabbing the first right on the stroke of half-time and then George Donnelly confirming the victory 4 minutes from time.

Next up was a game we were very fortunate to get anything from, as we came against a very strong Burton side, who completely outplayed us over the entire game, yet we went in at half-time leading 1-0 thanks to a George Donnelly goal in the first-half stoppage time. Our lead didn't last long after the break, Burton equalising in the 54th minute, and they continued to push forward searching for the winner. We managed to hold on and claim a battling 1-1 draw.

Our second away game on the bounce took us to Wycombe where the goal of the month from Adrian Cieslewicz gave us the lead in the 16th minute, however at the half-time whistle we were behind 2-1. With some alterations at half-time and an attacking substitution, Leon Clarke managed to pull us level in the 71st minute. Clarke had a chance to nick a win for us in the 90th minute, but just couldn't quite get on the end of a low cross from Cieslewicz.

Our final game of the month saw us face league favourites Portsmouth, and a brilliant first half display saw us race to a 2-0 lead within 25 minutes, goals coming from Hamza Bencherif and George Donnelly. In the second-half continued to press for a third to kill off the game, just as Portsmouth looked for a goal which would make the last however long horrible for us. Portsmouth did eventually find a goal, coming in injury time, and too late to have any real threat of pulling another one back, and we held on for a hard fought 2-1 victory.

At the end of September, and already 11 games into the season, we sat on top of the pile, although a couple of the clubs around us do have a game in hand. It has been a fantastic start to the season, and if we can continue picking up points on a regular basis in the run-up to Christmas, we have got a real opportunity of pushing on and potentially looking for a promotion spot come the end of the season, although there is still a long way to go!

Making a decent go at this, back to back promotions with Wrexham and three league promotions on the bounce for you is looking likely at this early stage!

Thanks Dan, we'll see what we can do, but I think it might be a tough ask...

A busy October saw us play 8 games in all, and with us having started the league so brightly, it was only going to be a matter of time until our form dropped, which is exactly what happened during the month, winning only 2 of our 7 league games.



A poor result to start the month away at Gateshead saw us take the lead early on through Leon Clarke, but then throw it away with some quite frankly shocking defending, with their two goals coming within 15 minutes of Clarke's. We were completely dominated throughout the whole game, and offered very little going forward, and it was a surprise the scoreline was only 2-1, come the end of the game.

Our next game was the 2nd round of the Johnstone Paint Trophy against an Accrington side we were expected to comfortably beat. How we didn't win the game in normal time I don't know, their keeper on top form as we had 29 shots on goal, with 14 of them on target, only pulling level, following an early second half goal, through George Donnelly 4 minutes from time. With the scores tied after 90, we went straight to another penalty shootout, and the players managed to hold their nerve to win 6-5 on penalties, after each side having taken 8.

Back to the league, and it was business as usual, losing to 10-man Plymouth Argyle thanks to two second half goals from aging former England striker Michael Owen, after we had gone ahead just before the hour through George Donnelly. This defeat really angered me, and I made it perfectly clear to the players just what I though of the result following the game hoping for a bit of a bounceback in our following game.

Our next game took us away to Northampton, where we were fortunate to go in at half-time, thanks again to a George Donnelly goal, just before the whistle. A converted penalty by Derek Doyle shortly into the second half extended our lead, yet we did almost everything we could to allow Northampton back into the game, but fortunately were able to hold out for a 2-1 victory.

A run of 3 straight draws followed against Southend, Torquay and Dagenham and Redbridge as we seemed incapable of defending a lead, or in certain cases defending at all in the first 10/15 minutes, falling behind to early goals in both the Southend and Dagenham and Redbridge matches. The only positive note to take from these games was a fantastic comeback by the players in the second half of the Southend game, having gone in at the break 2-0 down, we were able to pull it back to 2-2, and should have won the game with a glorious chance a few minutes from time.

Our final game of the month saw us welcome struggling Yeovil to the Racecourse, and a first solid-ish performance of the month saw us leading 2-1 at half time, with goals from George Donnelly and Hamza Bencherif, with a goal from ex-Man Utd player Bébé sandwiched in the middle. A second George Donnelly goal 20 minutes from time secured the 3 points for us, and he continued his good goalscoring run, having got 5 in the last 8 games.

At the end of the month, we were surprisingly still towards the top of the table, thanks to many of the other teams around us also having a slight dip in form, with also newly promoted Kidderminster sitting near the top of the table thanks to a great start from their talismanic striker Anthony Malbon who had grabbed 12 goals in 18 games.



It was imperative that we improved our form if we wanted to stay near the top and battle for promotion, but looking at the table as it stood did make nice viewing, although we knew that it was very tight, with just 6 points covering the top 11 teams, and just a couple of bad results could send us free falling down.

Another good month mate, up in the right area still!

Wasn't a brilliant month really, although we did progress in the cup, which was about the only positive I could take from it. Getting very frustrated at the number of disallowed goals we seem to be scoring... almost every free-kick we score from it's disallowed for offside. Gets extremely annoying after a while!

Another busy month saw us tackle 8 games, and I really hoped that our poor run of form would begin to pick itself up.



The month started promisingly, but as it drew on, things started to look worse as our form dipped once again, and saw us take only a single point from 3 games, and get knocked out of the FA Cup in the second round, missing out on a potentially lucrative tie.

We started out the month with an away game against Basingstoke in the first round of the FA Cup and a routine victory against a team a couple of divisions below us, courtesy of first half goals from Leon Clarke and Craig Moore saw us run out comfortable 2-0 victors, our reward being a home tie against Dagenham and Redbridge.

Back to the league and we faced a struggling Bury side, and following an extremely poor performance from us, we lost the game 2-0, thanks to 2 first half goals. During the entire game, we only managed 6 shots on goal with one of them being on target, and deservedly lost.

A slight improvement against Accrington came next, Craig Moore putting us ahead after 22 minutes, but we were pegged back 20 minutes from time. A late Adrian Cieslewicz goal 2 minutes from the end ensured that we grabbed an unlikely 3 points.

Our next home game was against a high flying Kidderminster who had been performing admirably in the league, however with a fantastic performance, we utterly smashed them on the pitch, running out 4-1 winners, goals from Hamza Bencherif, George Donnelly, Neal Trotman and Michael Hector. I had hoped that this would start a run of good form as we had created so many chances, it could have been a lot more than 4 as shown by the stats.



Unfortunately that was not to be the case, as our very next game away to Cheltenham we returned to losing ways, with Hamza Bencherif getting sent off in the 14th minute, after two bookable offences within a minute of each other. The game after that was a struggle, and we created very little, only managing 4 shots on goal, before they grabbed a goal 20 minutes from time, and held on for a 1-0 win.

Another poor showing against York where we fell behind in the 35th minute, only for Leon Clarke to restore parity 7 minutes later. We were unable to find a second through the very limited number of chances we had, and fell victim to a 92nd minute winner, which completely deflated us.

Still suffering from the York result, and our recent form, we welcomed Oxford as firm underdogs for the match. A Craig Moore goal however put us 1-0 up after half an hour, but we were pegged back 5 minutes before half time. An early second half goal gave Oxford the lead, and it looked like our run of defeats would continue, because try as we might, we couldn't get an equalising goal until the 88th minute when Neal Trotman was able to grab a very late goal from a corner to give us a point.

Our last game of the month was the FA Cup second round tie against Dagenham and Redbridge who started the game much the better side, and went ahead in the 11th minute. A second almost immediately after the restart made the task a lot more difficult for us, however a Leon Clarke goal in the 64th minute gave us a fighting chance of getting at least a replay. That chance was put to bed in the 73rd minute when Dagenham and Redbridge extended their lead again to 3-1. A late George Donnelly goal made the game look closer than it had been, and we limped out of the cup after another poor home performance.



The month had been a poor one for us, and we really needed to start improving, and soon as mid-way through the season we were in for a real chance of back-to-back promotions. A busy December was coming up, and if we could start picking up points again we would be able to challenge at the top of the table once more.

The final month of the year, and normally a busy month for games, actually saw us play less games this month than the previous two, with just 6 games to contend with.



The month started off by welcoming League 1 Hartlepool to the Racecourse to compete in the Johnstone Paint Trophy quater final (north). A defensive outset, with the hope of nicking a goal to win it following our recent form was the plan, and it couldn't have worked any better. Just as things were starting to look like it would be our third cup game in a row that would be decided on the lottery of penalties, a mistake by Joe Martin, put us 1-0 up in injury time, the ball bouncing off his back and past the keeper from a cross, taking us through to the semi-final where we drew Burton!

Back to the league, and two poor performances and two back-to-back defeats by league leaders Chesterfield and then by mid-table Brentford brought us back down with a thump, following the high of progressing in the cup, and also continued our poor league form, making it 1 point from a possible 15.

Hoping for a change of fortunes, we traveled to struggling Exeter and got off to a good start, Leon Clarke scoring in the 18th minute. After the break, we got 2 more through Mark Creighton and George Donnelly to give us our first win in the league for 5 games.

An away match against Yeovil on Boxing day was decided by an early George Donnelly goal, and we did really well to restrict the number of chances they had during the game, with Yeovil not actually registering a single shot on target throughout the match, and we won the game 1-0.

Our final game of the month was against Hereford back at the Racecourse, and a brilliant performance and two first half goals from Craig Moore and Neal Trotman saw us lead at the break 2-0. Although there were no more goals in the second half, substitute George Donnelly hit the woodwork an incredible 3 times as we were unable to extend our lead, but a good 2-0 win was registered.



It finally looked as though our run of poor form had come to an end, and as a result we had begun to climb back up the table, now only 4 points behind leaders York and Chesterfield and hoping that we could continue our recent run of good form through into the next year.

Much better form there mate! Coming together nicely!

The first month of the new year brought 5 games for us to play, and we hopefully could continue our recent run of form through the month.



The first game we played was against Burton in the Johnstone Paint Trophy semi final (north), with an opportunity to play in the final if we were to win it. A battling defensive display from us saw a very even game being played, and we took the lead through Leon Clarke in the 67th minute. As Burton attacked to try and stay in the cup, they became vulnerable to a quick counter, and Jeffrey Monakana grabbed his first of the season deep into injury time to ensure that victory would be Wrexham's.

Back to the league fixtures the following week, and a good attacking display against Crawley saw us extend our winning run to 4 games thanks to a 3-1 win, Jeffrey Monakana scoring his 2nd in 2 games in the 4th minute to start the game brilliantly for us. 2 Leon Clarke goals in the second half extended our lead to 3-0, before Crawley grabbed one back in the 66th minute, but were unable to get any more.

Our third away game in a row took us to face Bristol Rovers, and again a fantastic start to the game saw us race to a 2-0 lead within 6 minutes, goals coming from George Donnelly and Joe Bryan. A 3rd came 9 minutes from time, and should have been one for the dubious goals committee, as although it went down as an own goal, it appeared that Craig Moore had got the final touch. Either way, we ran out 3-0 winners and continued our good form.

Our run of good form was brought to a very abrupt end against Stevenage at home in our first home game of the month, despite going ahead in the 28th minute through another own goal. Stevenage responded well, and a soft penalty awarded 5 minutes before half time gave them an opportunity to pull level, which they made no mistake from. After the break, we couldn't seem to get hold of the ball, and Stevenage scored 3 more before the 90 were up to run out 4-1 winners.

Our final game of the month saw us welcome Wycombe and after a first-half where we were very lucky to keep the scores goalless, a much improved side came out after the break, and managed to take the lead through Jeffrey Monakana in the 57th minute. An injury to Hamza Bencherif saw us have to play the rest of the game with 10 men, as all 3 substitutes had been used, however this didn't stop us from extending our lead, firstly through Mark Creighton and then 5 minutes later through Neal Trotman for a final scoreline of 3-0.



It had been a good month for us, progressing through to the regional final of the Johnstone Paint Trophy, where we would meet Shrewsbury, combined with our decent league form, other than the loss to Stevenage, and we had been able to close the gap at the top of the table. York were still 6 points clear, however we had a game in hand, and were we to go on and win that game, we would be within striking distance of the league leaders, and now with a real chance of the title with only 13 games remaining.

Another good month, keeping it tight at the top and into the JPT regional final!

A busy February saw us face 6 games in a short 4 week period, including the Johnstone Paint Trophy regional final against Shrewsbury over two legs.



Our first game of the month was the home leg of that tie, and in a good defensive display, we managed to keep the scores level, and make it all to play for in the second leg.

An away game against much improved Portsmouth in the league was up next, and in a close game, they took the lead in the 64th minute. We had an opportunity to level with 5 minutes remaining, but unfortunately Craig Moore couldn't bury the penalty that we had been awarded and the game ended 1-0.

Our following game against Burton had been postponed an incredible 4 times since the beginning of January, and we were finally able to play them. Although we dominated the game, a mistake from a free-kick from Mark Creighton, failing to clear the ball when he needed to allowed them to grab the only goal of the game in the 69th minute and condemn us to our first back-to-back league defeats since before Christmas.

We then had the challenge of the second leg of the Johnstone Paint Trophy final, and we traveled to Shrewsbury full of anticipation and nerves, but hoping I would be able to channel it into a good performance. In a very nervy first half, we were very slow to get going and were very fortunate to still be in the game at half time, with the scores somehow remaining level. After the break we started playing much better, and got a just reward, Craig Moore scoring 10 minutes after the restart to leave Shrewsbury needing 2 goals to win the tie. We went defensive, hoping that we could hold out for the win, and despite Shrewsbury scoring with 10 minutes to go, to make it a very nervy last 10 minutes, we were able to hold out and qualified for the final of the entire competition on away goals where we would face Bournemouth. A fantastic achievement, and we could potentially be ticking off one of the trophies I had thought we wouldn't stand a chance with this season!

After the high of reaching the cup final, our good form returned as we traveled to Plymouth. In a game that would have been thrilling for the neutrals, we took the lead twice, only to be pegged back twice, before Jeffrey Monakana asserted his authority on the game, coming away with a well earned hat-trick. The other goal in the game came from Craig Moore, ending his recent goal drought in the league.

In the final game of the month, we welcomed Gateshead to Wales, and in another tight game against them, we ran out 2-1 winners. All goals were scored in the first 30 minutes, Craig Moore giving us the lead after 14 minutes before we were pegged back 5 minutes later. Ryan Mason scored what turned out to be the winner and his first for the club on the half hour mark to make the scores 2-1. Both teams had chances in the second half, but both sets of strikers were unable to convert.



Thanks to his hat-trick against Plymouth the nPower League 2 Young Player of the Month was awarded to Jeffrey Monakana, and hopefully he would be able to continue his run of good form through the final 9 games of the season.



At the end of the month, and with 9 games remaining, we were sitting comfortably in the automatic promotion places, 4 points behind league leaders York. With our last game of the season being York at home, the title race could well come down to the very last game of the season!

March saw the run-in towards the end of the season begin with 4 league games being played. With the gap only being 4 points at the top between us and York, it would only take one slip up for us to catch up and start applying some real pressure.



The first game of the month was an important top of the table clash at home to Northampton. After a strong first-half performance, we led at the break 2-0 thanks to a first career goal from Jonathon Bateson and a second from Leon Clarke. After the break Northampton looked much the better side, eventually pulling level in the 76th minute. With time running out, Leon Clarke grabbed his second of the game to give us a slightly fortuitous 3-2 victory in what I'm sure was a thrilling match for the neutrals, and also allowed us to keep the pressure on York.

Our second game of the month was against struggling Southend and it really was a game of two halves, with us powering to a 3-0 lead within the opening half hour, goals coming from George Donnelly, Craig Moore and Joe Bryan to show for some fantastic attacking football. In the second half, I'm not quite sure what happened as we let Southend back into the game, and also let a 3-goal lead slip, their equaliser coming in the 91st minute to break the hearts of the travelling support.

A better defensive showing the following week saw us hold onto a lead after racing ahead 2-0 against Torquay, two quickfire goals coming from Leon Clarke and George Donnelly. Although Torquay managed to pull one back, we managed to hold on for 3 points.

Another two first half goals from Leon Clarke and George Donnelly was again enough to secure all three points for the Red Dragons, playing away at Dagenham and Redbridge, with the defense being rarely tested, and we arguably should have won by more.



By the end of the month we had caught up with, and overtaken York at the top of the table, albeit on goal difference. With only 5 games left of the season, would we be able to hold onto our spot and make it memorable back-to-back promotions as well as being crowned champions of nPower League 2?

Looks like you will claim another fantastic double

April brought about the last 5 league games of the season, and also saw us take a trip to Wembley, our third in two seasons, to contest the final of the Johnstone Paint Trophy.



With the gap at the top of the table so close, in fact it couldn't be closer, it was imperative that we continued our good form to carry us through to the end of the season to end as champions.

In our first game of the month against Bury, we did just that, playing very well indeed in front of our home fans and finishing the game 4-0 in our favour, goals coming from Leon Clarke, Hamza Bencherif and a second half brace from Craig Moore ensuring we retained our top spot for at least another week.

Our second game of the month was the long anticipated Johnstone Paint Trophy Final against Bournemouth at Wembley. After our fantastic run to reach the final, would we be able to pull off an upset and win the trophy? We set out with a defensive outlook, in an attempt to try and limit the creative talent at the disposal of Bournemouth's manager Gus Poyet, but we fell behind to an unfortunate own goal from Derek Doyle after 20 minutes, the ball bouncing off the post and onto Doyle before going into the net. With the half-time score at 1-0, if we were to have any chance of winning the game, we needed to go out and attack to try and nick a goal back. With this came an obvious weakness to a counter attack, and we fell further behind from a penalty following a counter attack. With the odds stacked firmly against us, it now looked like we would unfortunately not be winning the trophy this time. The final whistle came, and although the players had given their all, the difference in class had been evident, losing 2-0 on the day. Unfortunately Dan, the double was a little bit out of our reach this season, but there's always next time!

Back to the league, and with the title still to play for, we needed to ensure that our loss against Bournemouth didn't knock our confidence against Accrington. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, with the players low on confidence, and Accrington playing extremely well, we went down 4-0. Fortunately for us York had failed to capitalise, Kidderminster doing us a favour and playing out a 1-1 draw.

A good showing at home to Cheltenham and another 3 points to keep the pressure on York came next, with 2 first half goals coming from Leon Clarke and Jeffrey Monakana putting us 2-0 up. A late consolation goal made the game look a lot closer than it was, but we were able to hold on for the win.

Our penultimate game of the season, and our final away game saw us travel to Kidderminster. Knowing that if we failed to win and York won their game the title race would be over, I had hoped for a decent start to the game, which we got, Jeffrey Monakana scoring after 3 minutes. We were unable to retain the lead, and the performance after that was truly abysmal, seeing us go on to lose 4-1, and it looked as though we had lost our chance to win. A check of the York scoreline however, saw that they had drawn 1-1 against Chesterfield meaning that they were 2 points ahead of us with one game to play!

Going into the final game of the season, and the title was still very much up for grabs.Three teams were still capable of winning the title. For York anything but a loss would almost certainly see them win, Northampton needed to win by a large margin, and for there and for there to both Wrexham and York to draw, and we just simply needed to beat York to ensure that the title would be ours!

The fixture couldn't have been better, with first and second place playing each other on the final day of the season, with the winner going onto win the league. On a massive day for the club, with an opportunity to gain back-to-back promotions, and also for me to clinch that first title, we welcomed York to the Racecourse. Things couldn't have got off to a worse start for us, as almost immediately from the kickoff we were behind, Carl Watts scoring in the 3rd minute to leave us with a mountain to climb. The players responded fantastically, and for the next 10 minutes we were camped in York's half, creating chance after chance but failing to convert them until Neal Trotman headed in at the near post from a header in the 18th minute. Although we were once again level, the job was only half done as we still needed to go out and find a goal. By this time as well, Northampton had fallen 2-0 down, and it looked as though it was a straight shoot-out between us and York for the title. The game became very end-to-end, both teams creating a number of chances until the 41st minute when Ryan Mason smashed home only his 2nd goal of the season from the edge of the penalty area to give us the lead! The second half was once again very end-to-end, York looking for the equaliser that would secure them the title, us looking for a third goal to put the game beyond doubt. Despite some chances, neither side was able to grab another goal, the game ending 2-1 and meaning that we were crowned nPower League Two Champions!





The league couldn't have been closer, with us winning it by only a single point from York, who had led for most of the second half of the season. I was so proud of the team, and the board were also extremely happy with me, going above all expectations to win the league.



Some good news also came for winger Adrian Cieslewicz as he was awarded 2nd place in the nPower League Two Goal of the Season competition for his effort against Wycombe back in September.



With my contract ending in June, the board immediately wanted to offer me a new contract to stay on at the club and guide them to safety the following season, however I felt it was time to move on, and take on another country before returning to England to continue with the mega-challenge this was turning out to be! I rejected their contract offer, and started scouring the job market in the hopes of finding a job perhaps in Ireland.

Unlucky with the JPT final mate! However you do have the league title!

Was always going to be a big ask, Bournemouth were flying high near the top of League One, and some of the players they had playing as well were just a class above my players, so was never going to be a likely one this time round.