Wrexham look to end their fine season in winning style
WHEN Stockport County pipped Wrexham to the National League title two seasons ago, an old rivalry was given extra spice.
Notts County might have taken the role of bête noire last season, but it’s County who are proving to be the more persistent opponents.
The story will continue next season, as County are going up as champions, and Wrexham will accompany them into League One.
The Red Dragons produced a supremely assured performance at Crewe last weekend, fulfilling Phil Parkinson’s promise to respect the integrity of the league.
There are no such issues at play today, but that doesn’t mean he’ll approach the game any differently.
Wrexham can still finish second in the division if they get a better result than Mansfield, who travel to a Barrow side who need a result to hold onto their play-off place.
County already had promotion wrapped up a fortnight ago, following a 2-0 win over Morecambe, and four days later they secured the title in emphatic style, winning 5-2 at Notts County.
Last Saturday’s home win over Accrington was the prelude to the trophy presentation as the club celebrated its remarkable rise from the National League North.
Proud manager Dave Challinor told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s a special night. It’s just desserts for all the work everyone has put in to get us to this point.
“I am very fortunate to have been in this situation before where I have won a title before the last game of the season and you can prepare to go out on to the pitch and pick it up in front of your home supporters.
“It’s not just a group of 30-plus players, it’s not just the manager, the scouting team, recruitment department, there is all sorts going on away from that – everyone plays their part.
“Saturday will be a huge celebration for everyone and we can enjoy the game without any kind of jeopardy.”
Owner Mark Stott has set a target of rising to the Championship by 2027, and Challinor sees it as an achievable ambition.
He said: “You look at what you have to do to get yourself to the Championship. Of course you want to do it as quickly as possible.
“Do we have the infrastructure in place? Absolutely. Do we have the backing? Absolutely – in a sensible way.
“We’ll do everything we can. I have finished in the play-offs every season I have managed, apart from the Covid year, so I don’t want to stop that run next year.
“Is it a tough challenge? Of course, but we have given ourselves every opportunity to make sure that comes to fruition. This is why we do it.”
Stockport will carry momentum into today’s game, as they have earned the title by keeping their nerve while their rivals wobbled.
They got their rough patch out of the way when heavy losses to Tranmere and Crewe in mid-February sparked a run of one win in seven.
A 5-0 thrashing of Milton Keynes broke the pattern and began a very different run of form. That was the first of eight consecutive wins which propelled them to the title.
They have won more games than anyone else in League Two, have the joint-best defence and are top scorers with an impressive 95 goals.
Twenty of those goals have come from Isaac Olaofe, who has made a huge impact since arriving from Millwall midway through last season.
He said: “I’ve stayed hungry and thankfully the goals have flowed nicely since I scored a hat-trick at Wrexham.
“I haven’t gone more than like four or five games without scoring a goal since then.
“I’ve been getting into better goalscoring areas. Our only objective this season, after coming so close last year, was to go up as champions.
“It’s a huge achievement and to personally score this many goals and the fact it’s coincided with the team being so consistent has been perfect. It tops everything.”