BOX OFFICE, ON & OFF THE FIELD
WHEN YOU take a step back and think about what has actually happened to Wrexham in the last couple of years, it’s still quite surreal.
Taken over by two famous actors in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney and Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds, a documentary streamed on Disney+, players with their faces plastered all over billboards around the world and the global spotlight on a squad with a galaxy of stars who, realistically, should nearly all be playing higher.
A community in north Wales has also been transformed, given reason to believe and has renewed hope in their football team they may have started thinking would never get out of the National League.
And that’s probably why a manager who exudes the calm of Phil Parkinson has been so key. The former Colchester United, Charlton Athletic, Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers boss has seen it all before.
Tomorrow the main event everyone has had marked on the calendar for some time arrives, as Notts County roll into town for what has been billed as one of the biggest games in football’s fifth tier, if not the biggest, in recent memory.
A shock defeat to FC Halifax Town on Friday has ramped it up even more. But Parkinson, of course, takes all the noise in his stride. And why wouldn’t he?
“Mentality and being relentless – and all those words – enjoying the exposure the club’s got, when the owners come over making sure the lads enjoy that, but making sure it doesn’t knock us away from our focus,” Parkinson said, ahead of the Easter fixtures. “The standards in training have been really good. There is a real drive and determination about the group.”
For Parkinson, that continued drive is down to the characters in the building.
“In our recruitment we worked very hard to bring the right people into the club,” he said. “People like Elliot Lee, Jordan Tunnicliffe, Ben Tozer and a whole group of players who could wear the armband and are very mature in the way they go about their business. And that spreads.
“Not only in terms of the way they train in the week but the way they’ve played at bigger clubs before. Just to use Elliot as an example, he’s played in the Championship.
“He, like the group, is enjoying the exposure and publicity the club gets, but making sure it doesn’t knock us out of our stride.”
Halifax did that on Good Friday. Perhaps it’s saying something when a defeat is a surprise, because the last time they experienced that in the league was against Notts back in October.
It puts the title battlers level on points, split only by Notts’ superior goal difference, albeit Wrexham do have a game in hand.
That they aren’t already planning end of season parades and parties is because Luke Williams’ Magpies have been just as relentless.
“We’ve got a lot of respect for Notts County and the way the club is run,” Parkinson said. “If we ever watch a game there, the people behind the scenes are always so respectful and welcoming. It’s a really well-run club and Luke has obviously done a great job.
“So, yeah, we have driven each other on. What it’s driven us onto in games is if we’re behind or drawing, maybe in a season when you’ve got so many points, you’d say, ‘Well, a draw from home is not bad’. But at times this season it’s not been good enough and we’ve had to make attacking substitutions to win games and they’ve done the same.”
While Williams talks of Notts having a ‘no victim mentality’ should they have to take the playoff route back to League Two, Parkinson can’t bring himself to think about that scenario.
“Neither team wants to be in the play-offs, it’s as simple as that,” Parkinson said. “The aim is to finish the job off. If we did end up in the play-offs, we’d deal with it when that comes along. “But our aim is to avoid them. We’ve got ourselves in a great position and now everyone is geared up to finishing the season in a very strong way.”
Will he enjoy Monday? A game that feels like everything is riding on it in front of yet another sell-out at the Racecourse. “Without doubt,” Parkinson said. “When you set out at the start of the season, you want to be in the games at the end of the season that mean something. “There’s nothing worse as a player or manager playing in meaningless games. You want to be a part of this.
“We’re going to enjoy the date when it comes and concentrate on playing our best.”
When the owners come over, we’ve had to make sure it doesn’t knock us away from our focus
Phil Parkinson