Nelson talks preparations for Wrexham away

Iron interim manager Michael Nelson has previewed this weekend's FA Trophy third round tie away against Wrexham.

Tuesday night's National League game against Woking was postponed due to poor weather conditions, and the gaffer started by speaking about this, saying: “We were going into it with a bit more confidence after a good performance and a clean sheet (at Yeovil Town, drawing 0-0), so to have it called off was a bit disappointing. It was understandable with the weather and low temperatures. We prepare to go to Wrexham on Saturday.”

On this week's training, the boss said: “We’ve had to change it up and train on different surfaces at times with the temperatures being so low. The lads have been able to get what we need into them and hopefully we can get onto the grass on Friday for a preparation day, then it’s into the game on Saturday.”

On the fitness of the team, Michael said: “There are no fresh problems. Ethan Young was out with a viral infection last week but he’s back into training this week so we’ve got him available as well. Kgosi (Ntlhe) is still on the grass, coming back slowly and progressing. He won’t be back this weekend but we’ll see how he goes next week and over the Christmas period.

“Jordan Hallam is back in the picture, he’s training every day with full sessions, so hopefully we can start to include him in matchday squads starting this weekend. The physios are pleased with Liam Feeney’s progress, it’s going well, but it’s a slow one with the complexity of the (hamstring) injury that he had.”

The interim manager also spoke about this weekend's opposition, saying: “We had a pleasing performance, a good clean sheet, and a positive result at Yeovil. I think we could have got all three out of it. We’ll take that pleasing performance into Saturday, and hopefully we can build on that, get the win, and go onto the next round.

“When we came up against Wrexham last time, we saw that they’re a big physical side but they can also get it down and play as well. When they’re in the final third, it doesn’t matter if it’s a corner, a free kick, or a throw in, you know it’s coming into the box. That’s something we dealt with well at Yeovil, as our two centre halves and full backs got their heads on things and relished the challenge of defending the box. We will definitely need more of that on Saturday. Hopefully, they can deliver.”

See more from Michael Nelson and Tom Pugh on Iron Player.