Phil Parkinson Interview. Credit: Wrexham AFC
Phil Parkinson praised Wrexham’s defensive organisation and belief after watching his side record an impressive 1-0 pre-season victory over Manchester United in Helsinki.
Sam Smith managed to score in the first half, and that goal proved enough for the team to win. Parkinson believed the defensive qualities and the way Wrexham played without the ball were just as important as defeating a Premier League team.
“It was another good workout for us,” Parkinson told the club’s media channels. “I spoke to the lads about the out-of-possession work. It had to be spot on today and I thought it was. We restricted them to very little and equally had some good moments ourselves.”
Wrexham frustrated a strong Manchester United side during the opening 45 minutes before coping comfortably with a youthful second-half team, something Parkinson believes highlighted the discipline shown throughout the squad.
“When you come up against teams like Chelsea or Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, any detail which isn’t right gets exploited,” he said. “The distances between the units and the work from the lads were really good.”
Parkinson was also pleased to see Smith score against his former club, while praising the striker’s overall contribution.
“Great for Sam. He’s always there, that’s his game,” Parkinson added. “I felt he gave two good centre-halves a really tough 45 minutes with his runs in behind and his physicality. Strikers always want to score and Sam will be happy with that.”
At the other end of the pitch, Wrexham made it back-to-back clean sheets to begin pre-season, with Parkinson highlighting the collective effort rather than individual performances.
“The work of the team was really good today,” he said. “Everyone did what we needed to do to come away with a good performance and ultimately a good result.”
The Reds now turn their attention to their pre-season tour of the United States, where fixtures against Leeds United, Liverpool and Sunderland await.
Parkinson confirmed several players were absent from the trip to Finland, while Ryan Hardie and Elliot Lee picked up injuries which he hopes will not prove serious.
“We’ve got other players to come back into that group, but I feel we’re progressing well and that is a good place to go to America with,” he said.
Looking ahead to the US tour, Parkinson added: “We can’t wait to get out there. The 45 minutes the players have had are huge benefits for us and we’re very excited with the games of that magnitude.”
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