We’ve always enjoyed the sheer physicality of commanding centre backs at Wrexham.

From man-mountain Eddie May, through the calm authority of Brian Carey and the angular elegance of Dennis Lawrence, the controlled aggression of Manny Smith and the less controlled aggression of Shaun Pearson,  to the raw power of Mark Creighton, we’ve been spoiled when it comes to dominant central defenders.

Yet I’m struggling to come up with an equivalent to Aaron Hayden. His mixture of strength and agility makes him a terrific asset. 

Hayden made a slightly erratic start to his time at Wrexham. I don’t want to be too harsh on him, as his magnificent qualities were instantly obvious. His raw speed was a massive asset for a defender, and his strength allowed him to shrug strikers off with an ease which was almost disdainful.

When I put it to him that he’d bullied one of the best target men in the division after he’d forced Eastleigh to withdraw Tyrone Barnett at half time, his response was to agree but point out that he didn’t feel he’d properly hit his stride yet. 

When he said that I pitied the poor strikers he’d come up against as the season progressed. I could see his point though: as he settled into the club his performances were punctuated by the occasion error. 

Sometimes they came from a desire to play out from the back, which is admirable and not his fault if that’s how the team has been instructed to play. Whatever the cause of his mistakes, the good news is that he seems to have got them out of his system now, as over the last few weeks he’s been impeccable.

Perhaps the closest equivalent to Hayden is Marvin Andrews. He was winding down his career when he came to us, but was a fascinating player to watch. Creighton expressed his admiration of Andrews to me after the Trinidadian’s debut alongside him at York, in which he found himself unexpectedly playing the covering role for once as Andrews would barge past him to attack every ball he could.

Andrews’ ability in the air was both freakishly good and a potential liability at the same time. In contrast to the likes of Creighton, who could use his strength to claim an area of the pitch as his own and hold his ground to win aerial challenges as his opponents bounced off him, Andrews would take a run up and spring into his headers.

The result was an ability to head the ball a remarkable distance, and his prodigious leap made him incredibly difficult to beat in the air. However, there was a risk involved in such an approach: if he mistimed his jump, he could miss the ball in a way Creighton rarely would.

The similarity with Hayden didn’t lie in that all-or-nothing approach in the air, although it was an expression of some of the qualities they share. Like Hayden, Andrews was sprightly, quick and strong. He could cover ground swiftly and then deal with any threat with what the SAS call extreme prejudice!

It’s unusual to find such a rounded skillset in a National League defender, and the reason we’ve had two players at this level is clear. Usually, quality players only drop down to our level if something is wrong. Perhaps they have injury or stamina issues which mean their gifts can’t be regularly displayed on the pitch. Maybe a poor attitude or external issues might hamper their productivity.

Andrews wound up with us because age and, to an extent, injury were catching up with him. Hayden, though, is showing off his skills in a Wrexham shirt for a different reason. 

Our ability to target talent from higher divisions since our takeover leaves us in a wonderful situation, attracting the quality of Paul Mullin and Ben Tozer.

Hayden also has those qualities which make him stand out from the National League crowd.  He’s already started more game for Wrexham than Andrews did, and hopefully we’ll enjoy plenty more from him as he looks to establish a place alongside the stalwarts I mentioned earlier.