Wrexham are away at Blackpool on Monday where two seasoned Football League managers go head-to-head.
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson and Blackpool boss Steve Bruce are no strangers to the Football League and to the dugout having overseen 1000 game each.
The two have had very different careers but both are currently managing in League One, albeit Parkinson is gunning for a third-straight promotion and Bruce is seemingly playing for very little.
But Wrexham drew 1-1 against Bristol Rovers on Friday to drop down into 3rd place of the League One table. That’s compared to Blackpool who sit in 10th, and six points outside the play-offs with three to go.
Steve Bruce loves the Wrexham story under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
Earlier in the season Bruce hailed Wrexham’s form in League One, outing them and Birmingham City as arguably the toughest teams to play in the division. And the story hasn’t changed all that much with the Dragons still at the upper end of the table, albeit not looking at all like automatic promotion contenders after that Bristol Rovers display.
Nonetheless, Bruce is still full of praise for Wrexham: specifically for owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and what they’ve done for the club since their arrival in 2021, overseeing back-to-back promotions and putting the club on the global stage thanks to the ‘Welcome to Wrexham‘ docuseries.
Bruce told Blackpool Gazette: “It’s a great story, isn’t it? What they’ve done for Wrexham. Looking from afar you can only applaud them and what they’ve done.” Bruce also reserves praise for Parkinson: “They’ve had success on the pitch, manager’s done an amazing job, I’m sure it’s not easy at times, but it’s going to be a great atmosphere on Monday.”
- READ MORE: Phil Parkinson shares how he really feels about promotion after Wrexham’s draw vs Bristol Rovers
Phil Parkinson’s record managing vs Steve Bruce
Despite the two managers having been in the game for so long now, Bruce has only ever managed five games against Parkinson.
And Bruce has gotten the better of Parkinson, to date anyway, with three wins and two defeats form those five games.
| Steve Bruce’s record vs Phil Parkinson |
| 3 wins |
| 0 draws |
| 2 defeats |
Earlier in the season, Wrexham beat Blackpool 2-1 at the Racecourse on Boxing Day, with Paul Mullin and Steen Fletcher both on target that day.
Don’t expect Mullin to play this time round though with journalist Nathan Salt even suggesting that Mullin has played his last game for Wrexham.
Kick off is at 3pm on Monday.