Wrexham will look for a big response on Monday afternoon as Phil Parkinson takes his side to face Blackpool.
Wrexham still have a chance to land promotion from League One, but Phil Parkinson’s hopes took a blow on Friday.
Parkinson could only watch on as Wrexham drew 1-1 with Bristol Rovers on Friday afternoon.
Matty James is still hopeful of promotion after scoring Wrexham’s equaliser, having gone behind to Taylor Moore’s opener.
Wycombe Wanderers beat Bolton Wanderers on Friday, compounding Wrexham’s disappointment as the Chairboys moved into second place.
Parkinson’s side must respond with three games to go, and that begins on Monday as Wrexham take on Blackpool.
Phil Parkinson once rejected Blackpool
Wrexham’s promotion hopes could be on the line at Bloomfield Road, with nothing short of a win now acceptable.
Parkinson also needs to hope for a favour from former club Charlton Athletic, who take on Wycombe on Monday afternoon.
Wrexham’s trip to Blackpool sees Parkinson face a club he could so easily have taken charge of back in 2013.
Blackpool lost Michael Appleton to Blackburn Rovers and targeted then-Bradford City boss Parkinson as a replacement.
As reported by BBC Sport, Parkinson decided to reject the approach and stay with Bradford, who were in League Two at the time.
Snubbing a Championship move won’t have been easy, but Parkinson went on to enjoy a dream season by winning the play-offs and taking Bradford to the EFL Cup final.
More than 12 years later, Parkinson must now head to the seaside and claim all three points to keep his Wrexham promotion dreams alive.
Phil Parkinson’s family surely backed Blackpool snub
Parkinson hails from Chorley in Lancashire, just about 28 miles from Blackpool.
A move back to Lancashire may have appealed to Parkinson, but his mother and father wouldn’t have been too impressed.
Speaking on ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ (Season 1, Episode 3), Parkinson admitted that his family were Preston North End season ticket holders.
“Growing up, I can remember going to watch games with my dad, my brother and friends,” said Parkinson.
“My mum and dad, actually, were Preston North End fans over in Lancashire. They were season ticket holders at Preston when they grew up,” he added.
North End’s rivalry with Blackpool is fierce and joining ‘the enemy’ could have been a rather unpopular decision in the Parkinson household.
Now with Wrexham needing a win, you can be sure that Parkinson’s family will be desperate for a win over Blackpool on Monday with those PNE ties in mind.