12 February 2024 , 17:51
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Wrexham's recent slump may have put their chances of automatic promotion into doubt - but co-chairman Ryan Reynolds has already spoke in glowing terms about head coach Phil Parkinson.
The Red Dragons' 3-1 loss against Bradford City was their third league defeat in succession, coupled with an FA Cup defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers. Their form in the last few weeks has also seen them drop down to fifth in the League Two table.
With 20 games still to play, including games in hand over their nearest rivals in the standings, there is still cause for optimism that achieving back-to-back promotions is still within their grasp. That said, this recent sequence of results probably represents the nadir of manager Parkinson's glorious reign in North Wales.
Luckily, after masterminding the club's return to the EFL after 15 years away last term and having overseen a strong start to this campaign, the coach has credit in the bank when it comes to his standing among Wrexham's hierarchy. In fact, the Dragons' Hollywood owners have spoken previously of their admiration for their man in the dugout.
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Club co-chairmen Reynolds and Rob McElhenney waxed lyrical about the popular head coach last year, as Parkinson showed his softer side in a viral video back in April. Shown giving an impromptu tour of the team's stadium to a youngster and his friends, Wrexham's owners reacted to the clip, with McElhenney saying: "My Gaffer", while Ryan added: "This is our gaffer #parky."
Taking to Twitter/ X following the loss to at the Racecourse Ground, the latter also offered some words of encouragement to the whole dressing room. The 'Deadpool' actor said: "The entire Bradford City squad played with so much heart today. Congrats. We have all the tools. Just need to put it together. I love this squad, while McElhenney also said: "Outstanding as always."
After leading Wrexham to 15 wins in the club's opening 29 games upon their return to the fourth tier, Parkinson has already demonstrated his ability to get results at this level. Furthermore, he has now received the backing of a former employer to turn things around following the team's recent poor run.
Speaking as Parkinson's former club Bradford inflicted a third consecutive league loss, the Bantams' chairman has now predicted that the 56-year-old will arrest the slide. Julian Rhodes told The Athletic: “We set Phil just one target when he got the job — to keep us in the Football League that first season.
Phil Parkinson will be tasked with turning things around after a poor run of results for Wrexham"Bradford in the National League, with all the overheads we had back then (around £1.2million per year in rent, rates and utilities)… we’d have had a big, big problem. Oblivion, really. Phil appreciated all that but it never fazed him. He was always so very calm under pressure. It was a big reason why we went for him because he seemed that sort of character when we first met.
"Phil quickly realised how big the job of keeping us in the league was," he said of Parkinson's time at Valley Parade. "We were in a horrible position, down near the foot of the table for so long. I lost count of the number of crisis meetings we had that season, both as a board and with the manager, just trying to find a way out of the trouble we were in.
"What Phil never allowed was for any of it to become a drama, either for the players or the club. He’s one of those who never gets too high when things are going well and never gets too low when it goes in the other direction. He just gets on with the job and blocks out any outside noise.
Rhodes added: "Perfect for Bradford City, and I’d imagine perfect for Wrexham in their attempts to win another promotion. He’s a manager who just gets the job done."