South East Wales

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Ryan Barnett described the standing ovation he received after being withdrawn during Wrexham's 4-1 win over Northampton Town as "one of the best feelings" of his career.

The right wing-back played a key role in all four of his side's goals against the Cobblers and registered three assists as Phil Parkinson's men moved to within two points of League One leaders Birmingham City.

Barnett was replaced by Seb Revan in the 86th minute of the contest with Jon Brady's outfit and received significant applause from the home supporters as he walked off the pitch.

"It was nice to be honest, I was absolutely shattered," he said.

"When the gaffer brought me off, you want to be there for the 90 minutes but sometimes when the games come Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday, it's a tough ask.

"The reaction when I came off was brilliant, it's one of the best feelings of my career."

Victory was Wrexham's sixth from 10 League One matches so far this season, and Barnett was pleased his side could react after failing to score against Leyton Orient and Stevenage in their previous two outings.

"I think from the start if you said where we were now, you'd 100% have taken it," added Barnett.

"There's been a couple of dodgy performances in there, but if you look at today, we've reacted to it straight away.

"We'll take the start, but it's only the start, we've got to keep it going."

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James McClean believes Wrexham are "more than a match" for anyone in League One after they returned to winning ways with a 4-1 triumph over Northampton Town.

McClean netted twice to add to goals from Jack Marriott and Elliot Lee as Phil Parkinson's side moved to within two points of league leaders Birmingham City following the Blues' 1-0 loss to Charlton Athletic.

Victory came after Wrexham - who sit second in the table after the opening 10 games of the campaign - failed to score in their previous two fixtures - against Leyton Orient and Stevenage.

And McClean feels Wrexham are more than capable of challenging their promotion rivals this season if they can produce high performance levels on a consistent basis.

"You look at the squad we have and the quality we have, when we're bang at it, we're more than a match for anybody, but you have to be bang at it every game," he said.

"If you ease up or you're a little bit off it like we have been in the last couple of games, the results speak for themselves. You can't afford to do that.

"This team is built on hard work. We've got the quality, but first and foremost we need to work hard, and when we're at it and it clicks like it did today, it's a joy to behold."