Wrexham take on Charlton Athletic in a crucial League One encounter this weekend as Phil Parkinson looks to secure a spot in the Championship.
Wrexham head into the final two games of the League One season with the promotion race in their hands.
Phil Parkinson watched on as Wrexham beat Blackpool 2-1 on Monday, securing a huge victory on the road.
Wycombe Wanderers lost 4-0 to Charlton Athletic, allowing Wrexham to move back into second place – and with a two-point lead.
Wrexham now have a chance to secure a third straight promotion, but must now face Charlton, just days after their hammered Wycombe.
Parkinson would no doubt love to take a huge step towards promotion with a win over Charlton – especially having once been sacked by the club.
Why Charlton Athletic sacked Phil Parkinson
Parkinson has seen it all and done it all in the EFL.
From his brilliant start to management at Colchester United to lasting just a matter of months at Hull City, from guiding Bradford City to the EFL Cup final to the financial chaos at Bolton Wanderers, Parkinson has lived more than a few lives in his coaching career.
Parkinson also had a spell as Charlton Athletic boss, having initially joined the club as Alan Pardew’s assistant.
Pardew’s exit in November 2008 saw Parkinson step up, but he couldn’t save Charlton from relegation to League One.
The Addicks kept the faith with Parkinson, and he secured a play-off place, only to lose to Swindon Town in the semi-finals.
Parkinson lost his job midway through the 2010-11 season as Charlton sacked him on January 4 – despite sitting fifth in the League One table.
As Parkinson prepares to face Charlton in arguably the biggest match of the season, we looked back at just why the Addicks pulled the trigger.
Michael Slater and Tony Jimenez completed their takeover of Charlton in December 2010, sacking Parkinson mere days later.
Slater, as quoted by The Guardian, felt that performances under Parkinson just weren’t good enough and a change had to be made in order to target promotion.
“Clearly improvement is needed on the field. The team has not won in the league since November and recent performances have simply not been good enough,” said Slater.
“Last night’s defeat convinced us as a board that change is required now while we are still in the hunt for promotion, and that we must appoint a new manager to give us every chance of going up,” he added after a defeat to Swindon Town.
Charlton went on to finish 13th after Parkinson’s exit, but did go up as League One champions in 2012.
Phil Parkinson record v Charlton Athletic
More than 14 years on from that abrupt sacking, Parkinson has a chance to move a huge step closer to promotion.
In fact, securing that incredible third promotion in a row would truly cement Parkinson was one of the very best EFL managers.
Parkinson will be level-headed about this game, though, and will be focused on the job at hand rather than any kind of revenge.
Parkinson has faced Charlton just four times in his managerial career – and is yet to record a victory.
The first clash came in August 2016 as Parkinson’s Bolton Wanderers grabbed a 1-1 draw at The Valley.
Charlton then beat Bolton away from home later that season, and Parkinson’s last two games against Charlton – including with Wrexham earlier this term – have ended in draws.
Parkinson would love to finally grab that first win over Charlton this weekend, and put Wrexham on the brink of the Championship.