BRETT Ormerod could be about to swap places in the Football League with his former Saints strike partner James Beattie.

The 36-year-old Ormerod scored the winning goal at Gateshead on Tuesday as Wrexham moved into a three-point lead at the top of the Conference Premier.

It was the veteran’s fifth goal in his last 10 Conference outings, after failing to score in his first 16 games of 2012/13.

It was also his landmark 100th Premier League, Football League and Conference Premier goal since he started his career at Blackpool in the late 1990s.

With former leaders Grimsby losing at Braintree the same night, Wrexham are now in pole position to reclaim the Football League spot they lost in 2008.

But Grimsby have a game in hand and an inferior goal difference of just two.

If Wrexham do end up winning promotion, they could pass Beattie’s Accrington Stanley.

Beattie scored in three of his first four games for the League 2 club when he arrived there last November.

That run started with a penalty in his second game, a 3-1 win at Fleetwood.

But Accrington have only won once in 14 games since then, and Beattie – who made his England senior debut 10 years ago this month on the same night as Wayne Rooney – has not scored in his last nine outings.

Accrington slipped into the League 2 relegation zone on Tuesday due to Aldershot beating Torquay.

Had AFC Wimbledon not conceded an equaliser at home to Northampton, Accrington would be bottom of the entire Football League.

As for Ormerod, he could also end his first season outside the top four divisions with another Wembley appearance.

Three years ago Ormerod netted at the national stadium as Blackpool defeated Cardiff to win the Championship play-off final.

Now he is poised to go back there as Wrexham last weekend won the first leg of the FA Trophy semi final 3-1 at home to lower division Gainsborough.

Wrexham have never played in a cup final at either the old Wembley or the new one.