Sam Ricketts has called on his Wrexham players to ‘trust in themselves’ when they face Newport County in the Emirates FA Cup at the Racecourse on Saturday.
The Dragons manager says: “There’s a good saying ‘History is for books, the future is ours.’
“That’s exactly what this game is – an opportunity for the players to showcase their talents on the national stage. It is a game many, many people will take notice of and watch.
“We have started the season brilliantly and lost three in 24 games, which is excellent by anybody’s standards. We’re buoyant, but Newport come to our stadium as favourites.
“We have to trust ourselves. We are capable of winning, there are no two ways about that. It’s nothing more than we’ve done numerous times this year.
“Our job is to replicate our own performance levels.”
The first round tie is being shown live on BT Sport from the Racecourse and will kick-off at 8pm.
It’s a clash which looks certain to be closely contested and Ricketts says: “It captures people’s imaginations. An all-Welsh tie, north v south – everything the FA Cup is.
“Our club has a huge history. It’s one of the biggest things – everyone remembers Mickey Thomas’ goal, one of the most talked about in the FA Cup, and every year it will get shown because of the goal and because of the upset.
“That’s part of the club’s history and we’ve said to the players that’s fantastic and why the club is as big as it is. Now they have an opportunity to earn their place in folklore.
“Newport are doing well in the league above us. They will, naturally, come here and expect to win the game.
“But what we do know is we’re more than capable of putting an excellent performance in, and with that comes a great chance of winning.”
That goal by Thomas came when Wrexham beat the then champions Arsenal in the fourth round. His thunderbolt of a free-kick flew goalkeeper David Seaman’s despairing dive into the net.
An ultimate FA Cup giant-killing moment.
A Wrexham win against League Two Newport won’t be anything like the same magnitude as that Thomas moment, but it would still be huge for the North Wales club.
This is the first match between Dragons and Exiles since the National League play-off final at Wembley in 2013.
“There is a rivalry that has come over the years, going back to the play-off final as much as anything,” says Ricketts. “Listen, it’s nothing to do with me or the current group of players, but Newport won and have stayed in the Football League ever since. We have an opportunity to get one back on them, but it will be a good game.
Rekeil Pyke will miss the game with a hamstring injury, but Wrexham will be close to full strength.
“I’m expecting a tough, physical game,” said the Dragons manager. “Newport are resolute and have a very good game plan – probably typified by the manager.
“They will come here and try and win the game. They won’t not turn up and expect to just win the game. That’s not their style or their manager’s style.
“But that is the FA Cup. It’s a one-off game. Anything can happen.
“The players have been brilliant in the league, that is our bread and butter, but the cup is different. Something to enjoy and relish.”
Captain Shaun Pearson has played down the differences between the lowest tier of the Football League and the Vanarama National League.
“At this level a lot of players swap between the two and we know there will not be a massive gulf in quality. In general there isn’t much between the two leagues.
“We’ll be trying to nullify their main threats and hopefully we can cause a couple of problems ourselves and get a victory.”
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