Phil Parkinson and his Wrexham players don’t have the nerves of the play-offs to deal with this month, having taken the express route into the Championship.
Wrexham sealed a third-straight promotion this season, taking themselves into the Championship and into the second tier of English football for the first time in more than 40 years.
It wasn’t easy by any means: fans feared the worst after Wrexham’s 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers back in April allowed Wycombe Wanderers to move into 2nd place, leaving the Dragons in 3rd.
But Phil Parkinson’s players kept their nerve. In the end, Wrexham won their final three games of the season to claim 2nd place, eventually finishing five points clear of Stockport County in 3rd place.
On Sunday, the League One play-off final takes place between Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient, after Charlton beat Wycombe and Leyton Orient beat Stockport County in the play-off semi finals to book their places in the final.
Phil Parkinson is delighted that Wrexham aren’t playing in the play-offs
Speaking to Leader Live, Parkinson gave his verdict on the upcoming play-offs, with his former team Sunderland taking on Sheffield United in the Championship play-off final at Wembley on Saturday. He’s also spoken about the game between Charlton and Orient.
Wrexham fans had a bit of needle with Addicks boss Nathan Jones who called Wrexham a circus before their crunch match at the Racecourse in April. Wrexham won that game 3-0 and secured their promotion to the Championship in doing so.
Parkinson has now shared his delight at not having to partake in the play-offs, and Jones certainly won’t like it. The Wrexham boss said: “Two big games at the weekend. It will be some atmosphere at the Sunderland-Sheffield United game and then a London derby between Charlton and Orient in the division which we have come out of.
“Two really good sides and it will be interesting to watch that game. But it is great for us not to be involved and to go up automatically!”
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What Phil Parkinson said about Nathan Jones’s ‘circus’ comments
During the 3-0 win over Charlton, Wrexham fans were chanting at Jones throughout, saying ‘Welcome to the Circus’ as they watched their side secure a historic third-straight promotion.
The comments didn’t go down well at all with the fans, and nor did they go down well with Parkinson. Speaking on the matter, Parkinson accused Jones of a lack of respect for the club, saying: “It is a lack of respect to our owners, the team, the staff, the supporters and the heritage of Wrexham Football Club. But we will just concentrate on what we’ve got to do.”
If Charlton secure promotion on Sunday then fair play: it’s certainly not an easy feat to achieve. For Wrexham though, they’ll continue to do their talking on the pitch and in the upcoming summer transfer window, which promises to be an exciting one for the club.