Phil Parkinson has now revealed what is ‘so important’ during the recruitment process at Wrexham.
Wrexham’s return to League One has inspired huge expectations, with the Reds aiming to challenge near the top end of the table.
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have previously backed that ambition with words and now they’re poised to back Phil Parkinson with actions by presenting him a healthy sum of money to spend on players.
The Wrexham boss is currently drafting up a list of recruits and centre-back is a priority after watching Aaron Hayden, Ben Tozer and Jordan Tunnicliffe depart.
Unfortunately, the centre-back they wanted to fill the void was Jason Kerr but he’s just put any hopes of that happening to bed by signing a new contract with Wigan Athletic.
Kerr would have represented a shrewd piece of business, complementing the likes of Max Cleworth, Eoghan O’Connell and Tom O’Connor in defence, though it wasn’t to be.
Phil Parkinson shares what is ‘so important’ in the recruitment process
In the case of Kerr, Wrexham were said to be ‘pushing’ to sign the 27-year-old however, it appears Wigan offered the player more money to stay.
It’s the first and it won’t be the last player Parkinson misses out on this summer, with the 56-year-old explaining which part of the recruitment process is ‘so important’.
As seen in their past endeavours, McElhenney and Reynolds don’t just sign players who bring quality on the pitch; their personality and character have to fit into the dressing room, otherwise, they are crossed off the list.
Elliot Lee previously described the Wrexham dressing room as the best he’s been a part of and this method of recruiting players has played a big part.
Speaking ahead of their pre-season trip to Vancouver, Parkinson said: “The most important thing we can do is win on a Saturday afternoon at three o’clock. And all our energy goes into that.
“Keeping the dressing room right, the harmony in the football dressing room is so important if you’re gonna have a successful season.
“Because once the season starts, it’s a long nine months. You’re on the road together a lot. There’s lots of ups and downs.
“You need players that when you get beat, are going to respond. When they get left out the team, are going to respond and train properly. So there’s so many dynamics you have to come into play when you’re recruiting players.”
Wrexham will take their time with recruitment
Wrexham left two of their key signings till transfer deadline day in 2023 as George Evans arrived after leaving Championship side Millwall and Arthur Okonkwo was captured on loan from Arsenal.
Okonkwo and Evans were two of six players to arrive last summer as Parkinson topped up his squad from promotion and built on a strong core.
This time around, though, the Reds are going to overhaul their squad after letting nine players depart at the end of their contracts.
That doesn’t mean Parkinson and his recruitment staff will rush into any business, keeping the cards close to their chest and weighing up whether the move is right for each player.
It’s why Wrexham have been so successful in the past few years, as while it’s fine having deep pockets, it’s the type of personnel you bring in that counts.
So, if McElhenney and Reynolds leave some of their business till late on in the window, they’re more likely to have struck gold.
Although the end of the window is associated with panic buying, Parkinson will be chasing a player he’s been after for a while, so that stereotype doesn’t apply to Wrexham.
Expect the Welsh side to nail their recruitment strategy once again this summer and challenge some of the biggest clubs in League One, including Huddersfield and Birmingham.