Andy Morrell admits there are some really tough decisions to be made before Sunday’s match. Although there’s been a fairly settled look to the side under him, it’s not all that easy to second guess what side Morrell will put out. That’s not because he likes to make wild, experimental changes to his side. That’s not his style at all, which is a nice contrast to the Brian Little era, and Dean Saunders’ early years, when the Wrexham press corps would go to an away game and be asked by the home reporters how our side would line up, and we’d look at the team sheet but honestly couldn’t tell them!

Morrell doesn’t believe in such chopping and changing, but a number of his players have made a strong case to be given a start so it’s difficult to predict who will get the nod. In fact, I reckon only five players are absolutely certain to start: Chris Maxwell, Stephen Wright, Chris Westwood, Martin Riley and Danny Wright.

Naturally the focus is on who gets the nod up front, mainly down to two factors: as Morrell tends to rotate his forwards, it’s hard to predict who’ll be in attack; and there’s the question of whether he’ll pick himself.

However, there are issues all over the pitch for Morrell and Barr to resolve, albeit the sort of nice problems you get when a squad’s playing well.

To begin at the back, we know what the first choice back four would be. However, the injury to Neil Ashton doesn’t just complicate matters at the back: it also impacts on choices to be made further up the pitch. That’s because Morrell might wish to use Ashton’s deputy, Johnny Hunt, in a more advanced position if he can.

The midfield trio is complicated, simply because four into three won’t go. Jay Harris, Dean Keates and Joe Clarke had established themselves as the undisputed first choice midfield, gelling superbly through the middle of the season. The shape was good, the way they linked with the players around them was highly effective, and we seemed to have established a well-grooved unit. Then we went to Barrow.

Harris’ red card at Holker Street changed things. Kevin Thornton had accumulated quite a fan club amongst supporters who couldn’t have seen him play much if at all, purely on a positive word of mouth and that natural human desire to want the things we don’t have. Thornton was out of the side but sounded good and therefore assumed an air of exotic genius. Harris’ dismissal gave him a chance to deliver on the promise others had conferred on him, and he did exactly that!!

Thornton came in, linked well, passed smoothly and came up with both goals and assists. Harris returned but by then Keates was suspended. Sunday is the first game since the Barrow game, in late February, where all four midfielders will be available for selection. It’ll be interesting to see what decision is made.

That Barrow game was a selectorial watershed in other ways. The next match saw David Artell and Dele Adebola make their debuts and although Artell has merely played in place of the injured Martin Riley, Adebola’s arrival seems to have led to a change of policy up front. Since he was drafted in, rotation of the forwards has died off.

Danny Wright has established himself as a key player and hasn’t been in the rotation for a long time: he’s started the last 20 games he was available for, and when he was rested for the Rushall match it was the only game he hasn’t started of the last 35, stretching back to the start of September. He’s only been tactically subbed once since early November, and that was against Ebbsfleet because the game was won by half time!

Clearly Wright’s our first choice striker, but Adebola’s arrival has seen a very setled front three develop: Wright, Adebola and Brett Ormerod have been the starting trio in all five matches since Adebola’s debut. Obviously, that has to end on Sunday as Adebola is ineligible, but who comes in? Does Morrell stick to fielding a central striker who can wear down and occupy the centre backs, in which case he picks himself, or does he return Ormerod to the centre and open up the option of playing a wide player?

The selectorial turning point of Adebola’s arrival also affected one of the more keenly-debated decisions Morrell has made of late. The run he gave to Johnny Hunt on the left side of the front three split supporters. He isn’t a natural in the box, but he gave good shape to the attack and can deliver from wide positions. Hunt hasn’t played in that position since Adebola came in, but played there in eleven of the previous twelve matches: in Adebola’s absence will Morrell return to the option he’d been favouring?

I think he will. Hunt facilitates Joe Clarke’s forward runs, shifting space in front of him, and the duo combine well with Neil Ashton. There’s that name again: it’s all reliant on Ashton’s fitness, of course.

There’d be a real shift in emphasis up front depending on whether we use Hunt up front. If we do, Brett Ormerod is likely to play in the centre and the focus will be on movement from the strikers. If we don’t, I think Morrell will play himself through the middle for an hour to wear down Grimsby’s defenders, with Ormerod to the left. Then, when Morrell has run himself into the ground, he can give way for a pacy sub to shake things up.

So, if my guess is correct (guess is the key word in that sentence!!) then this is what Morrell will go for:

)If Ashton’s fit: Maxwell; S Wright, Westwood, Riley, Ashton; Harris, Keates, Clarke; D Wright, Ormerod, Hunt

If Ashton isn’t fit: Maxwell; S Wright, Westwood, Riley, Hunt; Harris, Keates, Clarke; D Wright, Morrell, Ormerod

That leaves some real quality on the bench, with Glen Little, Adrian Cieslewicz, Kevin Thornton and Rob Ogleby all capable of turning a match. The first three of those players are all the type you’d think would relish playing on a smooth pitch with space to exploit.

I’ve dealt with the Cieslewicz conundrum earlier, while Little’s legs smply won’t alow him to start, one wouldn’t have thought. Thornton would be very unfortunate to miss out on a starting spot, and I might be wrong to posit that he’ll be on the bench. His sharp passing and movement certainly offer us a new dimension in midifeld, and one Grimsby haven’t come up against. However, I suspect the tried and tested trio will get the nod, unless Pep Guardiola will have been on the phone to Colliers Park to argue the case for paying him as a false nine!

Just to illustrate how tricky a selection this will be for Morrell, if my guess is correct then probably one of those four players won’t even make the bench! He’s already said that he’s likely to include Andy Coughlin as a sub keeper, and he’ll need defensive cover, presumably in the shape of Declan Walker. So there’ll be three spots left to accommodate those four players. Serves Morrell right for putting such a good squad together, eh?