Wrexham name Dean Keates as manager for a second time

Dean Keates will be back in the Wrexham hotseat for a second spell as manager on Tuesday night when Harrogate Town arrive at the Racecourse.
The 41-year-old former Wrexham midfielder and FA Trophy-winning skipper, pictured, returned on Sunday after previously managing the Red Dragons from October 2016 to March 2018 as the successor to Gary Mills.
Keates – who left with Wrexham in fourth place to manage his hometown club Walsall – has signed a contract with the National League club until the summer of 2021.
After succeeding Bryan Hughes following his sacking two weeks ago, the new Wrexham boss’s first task will be to quickly turn around their season with the club only outside the bottom four on goal difference. Before his appointment, caretaker boss  Brian Flynn guided Wrexham to a 1-1 draw at Woking on Saturday.
Former player, manager and current club president Dixie McNeil headed up the recruitment process for the Wrexham Supporters Trust which unanimously endorsed the appointment of Hughes.
He told the club’s website: “It’s really nice that he wanted to come back to the club and I hope that the Wrexham supporters will get behind Dean.
“Together we can turn this season around and I believe Dean can push us up the league table, although we are behind the play-off places at the moment, there are still over 90 points to play for.
“We talked to a number of people about the position, which we narrowed down to and then interviewed five people. Dean gave a very good interview and we decided he was by far the best person for the job.”
Keates went on to make more than 160 appearances for the Dragons as captain after initially joining Wrexham as a player in 2010 and lifted the FA Trophy with the club the on their first ever appearance at Wembley in 2013.
After hanging up his playing boots in 2015, Keates first took charge of Wrexham in October 2016.