Wrexham managed to beat Wigan in the dying moments on Sunday afternoon, but James McClean put in a really poor performance that he will want to quickly forget.
Despite Wigan dominating the game throughout, Wrexham managed to steal all three points in the last minute of the game thanks to a Steven Fletcher goal.
Phil Parkinson will surely be concerned with the performances of the Wrexham players against Wigan, and the three points will do little to protect his side from a dressing down in the aftermath.
Of them all, James McClean will no doubt be the most disappointed in himself, and his statistics from the game prove he had a poor outing.
James McClean was one of the worst players on the pitch for Wrexham
The Wrexham captain provided the all-important assist for Fletcher’s late winner on the day, but for the 90 minutes before that, McClean did very little worth celebrating.
From watching the game, it was clear to see that McClean was struggling to assert his dominance, and he made very little impact going forward until that key pass at the end.
| Statistics | James McClean vs Wigan |
|---|---|
| Assists | 1 |
| Touches | 41 |
| Pass success | 58% |
| Duel success | 16.6% |
| Possession lost | 14 |
| Fouls | 1 |
Defensively, too, McClean displayed his usual aggression and determination to help the cause, but was unable to deal with Wigan’s pacey wingers. Indeed, the 35-year-old committed a foul in a dangerous area in injury time, which could easily have led to another Wigan chance to equalise.
As per data from SofaScore, McClean was also incredibly poor with his passing in the game. Only 58% of his passes were successful, including just one out of nine long balls and/or crosses.
The winger lost the ball 14 times throughout the game, and also only managed to win one of his six duels. It was an uncharacteristically weak performance from the skipper, and one that epitomised the sluggish, careless nature of the Wrexham squad on the day.
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Phil Parkinson needs far better from his leaders moving forward
Wrexham got the three points in the end, and once again showed their resilience and ability to grind out a result in difficult circumstances.
It’s qualities like those that will serve the Red Dragons well in the race for promotion, and ultimately, the win steers Parkinson’s side back into the automatic promotion spots, for now.
However, there are a number of issues Phil Parkinson needs to fix if Wrexham are to be successful this season, and the way his team were overrun by Wigan will be a major concern.
There is no doubt McClean will put this performance behind him and get back to his best again for the trip to Barnsley on New Year’s Day, and even less doubt that Parkinson will absolutely demand more from his captain.