New-look Dragons aiming for a fast start

WREXHAM will be looking to get their National League promotion bid off to a winning start when they entertain Macclesfield Town this afternoon.

It will be a new-look Dragons side on show after a summer of rebuilding which has seen a dozen senior players depart and 13 players join boss Dean Keates’ Racecourse revolution.

One of those new faces is former Newport County hitman Scott Boden who joined after a season with Scottish Premier League outfit Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Boden has netted three times in pre-season, including the opener their final friendly outing last weekend – a 1-1 draw at National League North side Chorley.

And the Dragons faithful will be hoping his goals will help their push for promotion to the Football League on the back of what was an overall disappointing campaign last term that saw them finish it in 13th.

Boden has already struck up a good understanding with another new arrival in the shape of striker Chris Holroyd who, ironically, joined Wrexham from today’s opponents Macclesfield.

Holroyd himself has scored twice during a pre-season which has seen Keates’ men win six of their eight matches, drawing one and losing the once – a 1-0 reverse at Nantwich.

Wrexham have enjoyed victories at Altrincham, Warrington Town, Stafford Rangers, Cefn Druids and Lex Glyndwr – as well as local side Louletano Desportos Clube during a short trip to Portugal.

Reflecting on pre-season, Keates said: “We’re happy with how it’s gone.

“We’ve managed the minutes, got a lot of 90 minutes into certain players and they have all come through it. We picked certain games as I wanted to play against teams that were going to be a little bit more direct. We could have gone and played teams higher up, but we are not going to be playing against that kind of football.”