Phil Parkinson is now faced with a make-or-break decision at Wrexham as he decides whether to start Jack Marriott against Grimsby Town.
Jack Marriott‘s arrival from Fleetwood Town on transfer deadline day was highly anticipated.
The clinical striker had previously starred at Derby County and was famous for scoring that goal against Leeds United in the 2019 play-off semi-finals.
Marriott’s experience of playing regularly in the Championship and League One filled supporters with confidence that he could smash it in League Two.
Sadly, the 29-year-old has only had minutes from the bench to feed off having only started three times in the fourth tier.
A mix of Paul Mullin being undroppable and Phil Parkinson preferring to use Steven Fletcher and Ollie Palmer as his second striker has seen Marriott fall down the pecking order.
Parkinson left the Englishman out of the squad for the defeat to Tranmere Rovers, but after responding with a five-minute hat-trick against Salford City reserves, there have now been calls for him to start against Grimsby.
Phil Parkinson told to start Jack Marriott vs Grimsby Town
Wrexham have failed to score in their last two matches having dropped points against Harrogate and Tranmere.
Parkinson opted to start Fletcher alongside Mullin last weekend, but the Scotsman was poor on the afternoon, prompting calls for Marriott to be given a chance.
Speaking ahead of the Grimsby clash, journalist Rich Fay believes Marriott hasn’t played as much because he isn’t suited to start alongside Mullin.
However, after scoring an impressive hat-trick, regardless of the opposition, he believes the EFL sharpshooter should get the nod in Lincolnshire.
“My concern for Marriott is it’s either him or Mullin, not them together,” Rich told the Rob Ryan Red podcast. “Maybe there is this slight favouritism, maybe someone like Lee or Mullin will have to be dropped to accommodate Jack Marriott at some point.”
“That’s the real difficult thing for Parky, these are the decisions that could be make or break for the entire season because I understand why Mullin and Lee are two of his favourite players, because they are very consistent and they are two of our highest quality players.
“But if you’ve bought someone like Jack Marriott, what annoys the most is I don’t think we’ve seen enough of him; he’s had a couple of air shots, a great chance at MK Dons away. But after scoring a hat trick in five minutes, surely he’s worth a go now.”
Why Jack Marriott should start vs Grimsby
Wrexham have lost their way in front of goal in the past two games, failing to find the net despite racking up a whopping 41 attempts.
Fresh after scoring his hat-trick, Marriott deserves an opportunity to lead the line in Lincolnshire after waiting patiently for his chance.
Throughout his career, Marriott has proven he’s the sort of striker who can score goals from nothing and sniff out opportunities.
This is exactly the type of forward that Parkinson must crave in his starting XI as the rest of his squad haven’t been supplying quality ammunition to the forward players.
Marriott will be on a high and Wrexham have drawn blanks in their last two, so there may be no better time to unleash the maverick forward against Grimsby.