DEAN KEATES believes Wrexham are still an attractive proposition to potential targets despite battling to avoid relegation to National League North.

Keates is looking to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window with 20th placed Wrexham only two points above the drop zone with 16 games to go.

And although some players may be reluctant to join a club fighting it out at the wrong end of the National League, Keates believes the long-term ambitions and size of the club still holds pulling power.

“I have to sell a vision of the football club, not just where we are now and the predicament we are in at the moment,” said Keates, who is hoping to add to his squad before the weekend.

“I have to sell the short term goal to a player, the mid term goal and the long term goal which is ultimately to get the football club back into the football league.

“We are still a big club, we have an unbelievable fanbase and it is still a great place to come and play football. That is what I have to sell to players.

“The atmosphere that we create within the stadium when opposition players come here, and the volume away from home, when I am talking to these players and trying to get them to this football club, that is something that the players always remember.”

Keates would like to get all his business done as soon as possible but is conscious of the fact that some players won’t become available just yet.

And although he hopes more fresh faces arrive at The Racecourse before next Saturday’s home match against Woking - Wrexham don’t have a game this weekend following their FA Trophy exit - Keates says it is inevitable that some signings won’t come on board until the back end of the month.

“At the first part of the window, there isn’t loads around and it is a little bit slow,” said Keates.

“There are players that we have earmarked and it is just monitoring.

“Going back to the last time I was here, it was only the last two weeks of the window that we fell on the likes of James Jennings and Russell Penn, the more experienced ones.

“They became available when their manager at a Football League team came towards the end of the window and thought ‘maybe we need to freshen it up ourselves’.

“I would like to do all my business now and get in every single target that I like but I don’t envisage all of it being done before the Woking game, but I would like to do a fair bit, get a few faces in and freshen it up to rejuvenate us.

“But there are still a few more weeks after the Woking game that I will be looking to add bodies.”

Keates says he wants to bridge the divide between his Wrexham side and supporters but he knows giving fans something to cheer about is key to keeping them on board.

Wrexham have struggled for consistency all season and the players were booed off the pitch following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Aldershot.

The inconsistent Reds were well below par and could have lost by a bigger margin, JJ Hooper scoring a late consolation to make it look closer than it was.

Keates admitted that the performance lacked the same pride and passion which Wrexham had shown in grinding out a 2-0 win against Chorley at Victory Park on New Year’s Day, with more than 800 travelling supporters recognising the effort that was being put in as Devonte Redmond and Omari Patrick's spectacular effort secured three points.

“We are not cut adrift but we are in a relegation battle,” said Keates. “But so are numerous other teams.

“We have not got the consistent levels that you want. You want to go win, win, win - win as many games as you can on the bounce and get yourselves out of it.

“The current form beats drawing, drawing, losing - out of two games we are picking up three points.

“But it needs addressing, we want to find some consistency and we want to give the fans something cheer about.

“There seems to be a divide between the fans and the team, and that gap needs to be bridged. We need to be united.

“If it is pretty football, that is a bonus, but the fans got right behind the team at Chorley and the lads dug in on a poor surface, they ground out a result.

“The passion was shown and the backing was there. We need to make sure that happens game after game.”