Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has come under fire from some quarters following the club’s tough start in the Championship, with an ex-player now giving his verdict
Lee Trundle has hit out at critics of Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Wrexham have been urged to keep the faith with manager Phil Parkinson after a club hero blasted reports his future was under threat as “disgraceful”.
The former Sunderland and Bolton boss has led the Red Dragons, co-owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, to three consecutive promotions. His impressive achievements in taking the North Wales club from the National League to the Championship have earned widespread recognition after being highlighted on the popular Welcome to Wrexham documentary on Disney+.
However, Parkinson’s side have endured a difficult start to life in the second tier this season and speculation emerged in mid-September that talks had been held by club chiefs over his future. The claims were later dismissed by Wrexham director Shaun Harvey, who said the manager still has plenty of credit in the bank.
Ex-Wrexham and Swansea City striker Lee Trundle has now insisted the club are correct to back Parkinson, despite his less than sparkling previous track record in the Championship. While doubts persist amongst some pundits over his long-term suitability for the role, Trundle has hit out at the 57-year-old’s critics.
“It was disgraceful when you look at what he’s done for the football club, going from the National League into the Championship,” he told WalesOnline in association with Casino Sites. “You’ve got to look at the level that you’re at. It’s going to be a learning curve for Phil as well at this point.
“He’s facing stuff which he hasn’t faced over the last couple of years because they’ve had that much success. For his job to be called into question and for people to pick him out, I thought that was wrong. He’s done an amazing job at the club and I think that he has every right to be the manager.”
Lee Trundle was a popular figure at Wrexham and thinks Phil Parkinson deserves time
Wrexham were sat precariously just one position above the Championship relegation zone at the start of this week following a 1-0 defeat at Stoke City last Saturday.
However, they finally registered their first home league win of the season after beating Oxford United by the same scoreline at the Racecourse Ground on Wednesday evening.
The result, which came courtesy of a first-half goal from Nathan Broadhead, lifted Wrexham up to 15th in the table. Trundle, who started his professional career at with the club in 2001 before later joining the Swans, understands the challenges of playing in the second tier only too well.
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And he believes Wrexham are well-placed to establish themselves in the division after spending around £33million on new players during the summer.
Trundle said: “I always knew this season was going to be the one where it starts to level out a little bit. The Championship is a completely different beast to League One, but I still think that Wrexham have done well.
“They’ll stay in the division this year…and they’ve made good signings. If you put a run of games together in the Championship then you end up at the top end of the table. It’s still early doors, with a lot of points to play for.”
Wrexham face high-flying Middlesbrough away in their next Championship fixture, before hosting Cardiff City in an all-Welsh Carabao Cup fourth round clash on Tuesday evening.
