Wrexham have one more game before Christmas but Phil Parkinson’s preparations for Bristol Rovers have taken a turn.
Wrexham advanced in the EFL Trophy in midweek but turned the focus back to league action over the weekend.
Cambridge United arrived and proved to be a tough nut to crack as they managed to secure a 2-2 draw in front of Ryan Reynolds and Channing Tatum watching on at the STōK Cae Ras.
Phil Parkinson’s home record at Wrexham is astonishing and he doesn’t often drop points – but he did on Saturday.
Cambridge boss Garry Monk loves his side’s display with Wrexham dropping points at home for just the second time this season.
Wrexham drop to third in the League One table and will be keen to hit back immediately as Christmas looms.
Bristol Rovers sack manager ahead of Wrexham clash
Wrexham’s next game is a trip to Bristol Rovers for the final away game of 2024.
Bristol Rovers were beaten 2-0 by Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon, which is hardly a shameful defeat.
The bigger picture is that Bristol Rovers have won just once in the last seven games and boss Matt Taylor is set to lose his job.
Bristol Live reporter Dan Hargraves reports that Bristol Rovers have decided to sack Taylor with official confirmation expected on Monday.
The Pirates sit 20th in the League One table and feel they need to make a change to pull away from the drop zone.
Parkinson may have been preparing to take on Taylor’s Bristol Rovers but the former Rotherham United boss will now be given his marching orders.
It’s unclear who will take temporary charge at this stage but this Bristol Rovers decision brings a level of uncertainty to Wrexham’s preparations.
Parkinson and the Wrexham analysts will have been preparing for Taylor’s approach but Saturday’s clash has now become a little more of an unknown quantity.
Axe falls just days after coaching deal
One interesting note here is that Bristol Rovers just made a coaching hire a matter of days ago.
Former Premier League midfielder Lee Cattermole was brought into the club to join Taylor’s first-team coaching staff as a set-piece coach.
Yet when Cattermole spoke on Bristol Rovers’ official website, he pointed out that it was director of football George Friend who brought him in rather than Taylor.
“I am delighted to join the coaching team at Bristol Rovers,” Cattermole said. “Having spoken to the guys here and George Friend, I very quickly got excited about the project being developed here at the Club. Everything I’ve heard about Bristol Rovers tells me it’s an exciting time to be part of things here, and I’m looking forward to getting going,” hea dded.
Taylor’s assistant Wayne Carlisle worked with Taylor at Exeter City, Rotherham United and Bristol Rovers, so he may well move on too.
That could put Cattermole into the dugout against Wrexham at the weekend mere days after being hired at the Memorial Stadium.