Wrexham need honest self-assessment - Parkinson

Published19 minutes ago

Phil Parkinson says Wrexham need to conduct some "honest" self-assessments on the back of their lacklustre display against Sheffield United.

The Red Dragons were significantly below par at Bramall Lane, particularly in the first half, as Ben Brereton Diaz's 30th-minute strike earned the Blades a 1-0 victory.

After the defeat in South Yorkshire, Parkinson urged his players to be individually "self-analytical".

"However you play, it's about 11 v 11, winning your individual duels and coming out on top of the player you're against," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"I'll always look at myself and my contributions, I'm the manager and obviously it's a significant one.

"But equally, I said to the lads, the first 45 minutes, we made them look a really good side.

"We've got to be very honest and self-analytical individually about our own performances and make sure that when we turn up on Wednesday night (against Middlesbrough) that we are ready to go toe-to-toe with a top team."

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Wrexham did not manage a single shot on target until Sam Smith's tame header was easily saved by Michael Cooper in the 96th minute.

They made just nine passes in the final third in the opening half, 68 fewer than Chris Wilder's men managed in the same period.

"We were second best in the first 45 minutes," added Parkinson.

"I just said to the lads in there that we played Sheffield United as a National League team at home (in 2023), we went to war with them, toe-to-toe, 3-3.

"We came here in midweek, everyone thought they'd have too much for us, we put in an unbelievable performance with a lot lesser team than we had tonight.

"Our performances this season, there have been some good ones.

"But we haven't got that Wrexham feel into every performance, which is that everybody wants to beat us, and an underdog mentality, a siege mentality."

No hiding from criticism

Parkinson has overseen immense success since being named as Wrexham boss in the summer of 2021.

He guided the club to three successive promotions between 2023 and 2025, although the pressure appears to be mounting on the 58-year-old following a slow start to the current campaign.

The Red Dragons have lost three of their past four matches and face promotion-hopefuls Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their final two matches prior to the November international window.

On the back of Wrexham's poor showing in Sheffield, Parkinson stated he would not hide away from any criticism that comes his way over the coming days.

"I'll just deal with it (criticism) like I've always dealt with it, I'll just concentrate on what I've got to do," he said.

"What can I do? Curl up in a ball and not come out of the house for three days?

"I've built my career as a manager and a player on fighting and being resilient.

"I've been dropped as a player, I've been sacked as a manager, I've lost games as a manager, I've had supporters chanting for me to be sacked.

"I've got thick skin, but equally, if I was a supporter, I'd be very disappointed in the way the lads played in that first 45 minutes.

"So if there is criticism, then we certainly can't hide away from that, and I won't."

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