DEAN KEATES was happy to let his Wrexham players head to Dublin for their Christmas party - but it might have been a different story had the Reds remained rock-bottom of the National League.

The Reds squad made the trip to Ireland on the back of successive victories over Eastleigh and Solihull Moors, which lifted Wrexham off the foot of the table.

Asked about the players Christmas outing, Keates said: “It came at a great time.

“The week before was a massive lull for the football club and then we’ve had two great performances.

“I’m not going to say that it was going to be cancelled, but it’s definitely helped their cause by having two victories leading up to it.

“It was an opportunity for them to go away, reflect on the previous two games and hopefully it’s given them a lift.

“If we’d been playing on Tuesday night would they have been out? No they wouldn’t have been.

“Was I happy for them to go? Yes I was, I’m not going to say I was against it. With the two results we had and the lift it’s given us I’ve turned around and said ‘go and enjoy yourselves and let your hair down’ and I’ve had no ill reports or anything.”

Pressed on whether Christmas would have been cancelled if Wrexham’s results hadn’t dramatically improved, Keates added: “For the football club to have been sat bottom of the National League is not good enough and it was a conversation I had with the players.”