Graham Barrow has been confirmed as the new manager of Wrexham after initially insisting he would not take the job.

Barrow has been in caretaker charge at the Racecourse Ground since stepping up from assistant when former boss Sam Ricketts left to join Shrewsbury Town.

Former Wigan assistant Barrow maintained he was only filling a gap between appointments and that he was not keen to be a permanent solution, although he would be willing to remain as assistant.

But after some gentle persuasion, the 64-year-old has been given a two-and-a-half-year deal with the National League club.

A statement issued by Wrexham, said: “We are delighted that Graham has accepted the offer to lead Wrexham AFC at an extremely exciting time in the development of the club.

“Graham has impressed everyone since joining us in the summer and, along with the current backroom staff, has been a massive part of a great start to the season.

“He was the outstanding candidate to build on that work and hits the ground running after several impressive displays by the team under his guidance.”

Barrow’s first game in change as official manager will be this weekend’s National League match at Aldershot.