It hasn’t been the start anyone wanted, but three games shouldn’t drown out five years of progress under Phil Parkinson. The Wrexham AFC manager has more than earned the right to be trusted when things aren’t going to plan.
Two points from three Championship matches is a disappointing return, and Friday’s 2-1 home defeat to Birmingham City only added to the frustration, especially given the manner of the goals conceded.
Parkinson didn’t shy away from that. He called them “two of the softest goals” the club had conceded during his time in charge and described the defending as unacceptable.
Phil Parkinson has earned patience at Wrexham
That honesty matters. Parkinson sees the same issues supporters see, and his track record suggests he deserves the chance to put them right.
When BBC Sport looked at the numbers behind his first 200 Wrexham league games, Parkinson had won 119 of them. That represented a 59.5 per cent win rate and an average of 2.025 points per game.
Wrexham’s rise through the leagues under Parkinson has been remarkable. They won 111 points to top the National League in 2022/23, followed that with back-to-back promotions from League Two and League One, and then finished seventh in their first Championship season.
Wrexham have recovered from slow starts before
This isn’t the first time a Parkinson side has looked shaky in the early weeks of a season.
Wrexham’s return to the EFL in 2023 started with a chaotic 5-3 home defeat to MK Dons. A few weeks later, a 5-5 draw with Swindon Town raised real questions about whether the defence was up to scratch.
But the manager found solutions. Wrexham finished second in League Two with 88 points that season, earning another promotion.
There was another wobble later in the campaign, with defeats to Newport County, Salford City and Bradford City threatening to derail the promotion push. Again, the team steadied themselves and finished the job.
Faith doesn’t mean ignoring the issues
Backing Parkinson doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. The performance against Birmingham highlighted clear problems, and the manager himself has been more open about those issues than most.
The squad is still evolving too. Injuries, new signings and uncertainty around the end of the transfer window have all played a part in a tricky start. Parkinson has spoken about a “bit of uncertainty in the camp”.
There will be time for criticism if results don’t improve. Right now, perspective is important.
Parkinson took over a National League side in July 2021. Five years on, Wrexham are playing their second consecutive Championship season after three successive promotions and a seventh-place finish at this level.
No manager deserves blind loyalty. But after everything he has done for this club, Parkinson has earned something better: trust.
Three games shouldn’t be enough to take that away.
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