CANNON FIRES OUT WARNING!
‘Hungry teams so keen to beat us’
WREXHAM midfielder Andy Cannon has warned that opposition teams will try and find an “extra five per cent” to wreck the club’s promotion hopes.
The global fame the Red Dragons have acquired following the Hollywood takeover by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has inevitably led to a target on their backs in the EFL’s bottom tier this term.
Their final four contests will see meetings against play-off hopefuls Crawley and Crewe sandwich a game versus relegation-threatened Forest Green before the regular campaign is concluded with a potential winnertakes-all clash at home to current league leaders Stockport.
A quartet with incentive enough, then, to derail Wrexham’s back-to-back promotion bid.
But, having missed out on a chance to establish a fivepoint automatic promotion cushion following Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to mid-table Doncaster, Cannon is wary of the performance boosts he has witnessed from sides throughout 2023-24.
Doncaster’s highest gate of the season – 10,537 – turned up in midweek and Cannon reasoned: “We have some very good players in our squad and, everywhere we go, the home teams seem to get their highest attendance of the season. It does feel that a lot of teams are gunning for us and it adds an extra five per cent to their games.
“You can feel that on the pitch – 100 per cent. They are trying extra hard to beat us.
“People often think that certain games will be comfortable, but we will need to work hard and stay relaxed to get the results we need, because we’re at a stage of the season where it’s crunch time and you get unexpected results.
“Every game will be tough. Nobody will roll over, so we’ve got to be mentally strong and, then, I believe we have the quality to see us through.”
Given that galvanising factor on host teams when Wrexham are on the road, Cannon is pleased three of the club’s final four fixtures will take place at the Racecourse Ground, where Crawley and Forest Green visit before that enticing showdown with Stockport.
Respect
If the Welshmen can at least keep within two points of the Hatters, it could decide the title.
And that would represent a notable personal achievement for Cannon, who would be celebrating a rare hattrick of consecutive championship-winning campaigns. The 28-year-old midfielder helped Stockport win the National League in 2021-22 following a loan move from Hull.
He repeated that feat for Wrexham last term after completing a mid-season switch from the Tigers.
On the prospect of completing a treble against his old team, Cannon said: “There’s a mutual respect between the two clubs and it would be a massive occasion if it did come to that. The atmosphere would be incredible, it would be a brilliant day.
“When the stadium is bouncing, it really does give you a lift and the fans are our 12th man, but we don’t want to look that far ahead.”
Cannon also bagged his first senior brace – including the club’s Goal of the Month – during a 3-1 triumph at Grimsby Town two weekends ago.
It took his 2023-24 tally to a career high of five in all competitions and, on that return, he added: “I’ve not really had a full season playing as a number eight and this season I’ve also played quite a few games in a more defensive role because of injuries.
“It’s still been my best scoring season and I feel that playing as a number eight is my best role, so I could still add more before the end of the season but, equally, if I’m needed more as a number four, I’m happy to do my best there.”