Crewe Alexandra players will block out the ‘noise’ at Wrexham tomorrow.
That’s according to Assistant Manager Ryan Dicker, who says it is important to ignore the Hollywood hype surrounding the Welsh club.
The Red Dragons have been on the crest of a wave since actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over, and home matches are all sell-outs as a result.
But Dicker said: “There’s a lot of noise surrounding the external stuff at Wrexham right now but we are just concentrating on what we need to do and preparing how we would for any game.
“The atmosphere will be good and the fans will want to enjoy the day and hopefully we can put on a performance that helps them do that.
“It’s a derby and we’ve not played them for a few years so we’re looking forward to it.
“They are strong at home but we’ve picked up away from home lately and it is important we build on that and get more points on the board.
“We have to get a foothold in the game and use our strengths to gain control and hopefully frustrate their players.”
It will be the first competitive meeting between the two clubs in 20 years. Crewe will start the game in sixth place – just one above their hosts.
Wrexham were hammered 5-0 by Stockport County last time out and there has been talk that former Alex loan keeper Arthur Okonkwo may be handed his first league start.
Dicker added: “They will be eager to get a reaction from their players after that result but we are not worried too much about that. We just have to go with our gameplan and try to execute it.
“Whether Arthur will play or not, we don’t know. But it will be nice to see him and hopefully he is doing all right. If he does play, hopefully he won’t keep a clean sheet!”
