Sheffield United are told Wrexham 'aren't your usual' National League club
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But Wrexham, Sheffield United’s opponents in the FA Cup tomorrow, are a force to be reckoned with on the pitch too. A win over Gateshead earlier this week saw them climb back to the top of the National League table, less than a month after beating Coventry City to set up their meeting with Paul Heckingbottom’s side.
“I told the players this morning, they’ve got players who have probably turned down League One clubs to go into the Conference,” Heckingbottom said. “So they are not a usual Conference team. “They can be direct, midfielders breaking forward and a long throw weapon in (Ben) Tozer, they are a threat from set-plays and we know we have to deal with that and hurt them with what we do.”
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Mindful of the fact they knocked out Championship opponents in the third round, Heckingbottom and his coaching staff have paid Phil Parkinson’s men the respect of undertaking extensive research into the tactics and players behind a remarkable 20 match unbeaten run. The dossier United’s analysts compiled for the 45-year-old and his coaching staff reveals a team which also favours setting-up in a 3-5-2 formation, given the talent at its disposal. That should be good news for United who, unbeaten in nine three divisions higher, will back themselves to win their one-on-one battles. But Parkinson, whose assistant Steve Parkin is a lifelong Unitedite, has also demonstrated a willingness to be flexible on those rare occasions Wrexham aren’t dominating a game.
“We’ve worked hard to get into this position,” Heckingbottom continued. “We don’t want to waste that work.”
United’s star man Iliman Ndiaye announced himself to a global audience during last year’s World Cup, impressing for Senegal during their march into the knockout stages where they lost to England. Now one of the most talked about players outside of the Premier League, Ndiaye’s ability to produce magic at any given moment has seen him score 10 goals this term and claim eight assists. The financial backing Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have provided since their takeover at the Racecourse Stadium has allowed Parkinson to attract talent which otherwise probably have considered a move to north Wales. It includes former United players Mark Howard and Callum McFadzean. But perhaps most notably, centre-forward Paul Mullin who has netted 26 times in only 30 outings. One of those efforts came during the 4-3 win at the CBS Arena. Mullin was on target a total of five times during victories against Oldham Athletic and Farnborough, and enters the meeting with United hoping to become the first non-league player to find the back of the net in rounds one, two, three and four since Telford’s Colin Williams in 1985.
“We want to win, we are determined to go through,” said Heckingbottom. “Our focus is on the league, of course it is. But let’s get this right, their focus (Wrexham) is on the league as well. But we both want this one as well, you can be sure of that.”