KEVIN RUSSELL credits Denis Smith for giving him the perfect grounding to go on and have a successful coaching career.

'Rooster' was in his second spell as a player at The Racecourse when Smith succeeded Brian Flynn as manager in 2001.

Smith appointed Russell as his right-hand man and the duo guided Wrexham to LDV Vans Trophy success at The Millennium Stadium before leaving the club in January 2007.

Russell had two spells as assistant manager to former Wrexham captain Darren Ferguson at Peterborough before becoming a youth team coach at Stoke.

Promoted to Under 23s manager for the 2018-19 season, Russell has developed an impressive CV and was linked with the vacant manager's job at Wrexham in recent years.

Russell puts it all down to having the ideal mentor in Smith.

"I had some really good times at Wrexham," said Russell.

"It put me in good stead for my career which has gone on since so it was a great learning curve for me.

"I couldn't have learned the trade under someone better than Denis with the knowledge and experience that he had.

"It was fantastic for me. He took me under his wing and he gave me a good grounding, it was great for me."

Russell had eyes on a League One promotion challenge with mid-table Wrexham when the club was put into administration in December 2004.

Wrexham received a 10 point deduction as punishment which left the Reds battling to avoid relegation.

But Wrexham managed to reach the LDV Vans Trophy final where they beat Southend United 2-0 at The Millennium Stadium, the highlight of a chaotic campaign.

"It was a tough season because we had the points deduction and stuff like that," said Russell.

"We were the first team to ever have points deducted and it hit us hard.

"If I remember rightly, at the beginning of the season we were up near the top.

"The points deduction killed us but the boys rallied back again and we ended up crowning the season off with a trophy which was a great achievement to be part of.

"At the time, getting to the final probably kept the club afloat with what we went through.

"When you think about what has gone on since, the achievement of the team that year and what they went through was brilliant."

Russell hailed the togetherness in the Wrexham camp as extra-time goals from prolific striker Juan Ugarte and captain Darren Ferguson sealed victory in the Welsh capital against League Two high-fliers Southend.

"In the build-up to the game and everything that was going on behind the scenes, people were rallying around to get money together to keep the club afloat," said Russell.

"It brought a togetherness within the group which was fantastic. It was a really tight-knit group.

"It was a great day. With it being at The Millennium Stadium as well, it made it a bit special.

"We stayed down for the night to celebrate; they were good, happy times."

Wrexham reached the showpiece after beating Oldham Athletic 6-3 on aggregate in the Northern Area final.

Ugarte's hat-trick helped Wrexham win the first leg 5-3 and Russell knew the Reds were on their way to Cardiff after that match.

"The away game at Oldham was brilliant," said Russell.

"It was an unbelievable performance on the night. It was a big game but the lads won the tie just in that game."

Wrexham lost their relegation battle but Russell says the squad was not short of quality with the likes of goalkeeper Ben Foster, Dennis Lawrence and Carlos Edwards going on to play higher up the pyramid.

"There were some good players in that team," said Russell.

"To be fair to Denis, and Brian Flynn before him, they put some good players together.

"Some good individuals who went on to have good careers."