Wrexham head into a final away game of 2024 on Saturday, travelling to take on Bristol Rovers in another League One clash.
2024 is drawing to a close and Wrexham will be looking to end on a high.
This weekend sees Wrexham travel to take on Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium in what may have been a difficult game for Phil Parkinson to prepare for amid managerial changes for the Pirates.
Matt Taylor was sacked by Bristol Rovers earlier this week and caretaker David Horseman was only confirmed as taking charge on Thursday.
Wrexham will look to pick up a positive result on the road before returning to the STōK Cae Ras for two home games to see out 2024.
Blackpool and Wigan Athletic finish to wrap up the year and the focus will then quickly turn to the January transfer window.
Phil Parkinson on Wrexham transfers
Wrexham have been busy in terms of new signings since winning promotion to League One back in April.
Eight signings arrived over the summer transfer window with Wrexham spending close to £2million on new signings.
Wrexham have also added a surprising number of free agents with four signings arriving outside of the transfer window.
Josh Adam, Matty James, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Brad Foster have all joined on free transfers, taking Wrexham’s tally of signings since promotion to 12.
That doesn’t mean Wrexham won’t be in the mix for signings during the January transfer window though.
Wrexham want another striker according to reports and Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford has been linked with Wrexham this week.
Parkinson has now told BBC Sport that Wrexham have no plans to stand still in January and are frequently speaking to agents about potential signings.
Parkinson added that Wrexham have been focused on January for a while now but are realistic about how difficult it can be to sign quality players in this window.
“We’re not standing still – we’re looking, speaking with agents all the time,” said Parkinson.
“We’ve had our eye on the ball for quite a while with the January transfer window in mind.
“Everybody in this window will be assessing their squad, looking at the market and looking to add quality. Quite often [with] those quality players, you’ll get two or three clubs competing for that signature. We’ll be in the mix if the right player becomes available,” he added.
Parkinson on Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds
Wrexham will be looking for Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds to back Parkinson with signings.
Investment from the Allyn family will hopefully help the cause and Parkinson has explained his process in the transfer market.
Parkinson noted that he and the Wrexham recruitment staff put forward their case for potential arrivals with McElhenney and Reynolds then making a decision.
Parkinson admitted that McElhenney and Reynolds are both well aware of what Wrexham would like to do in January but won’t sign players for the sake of it.
The Wrexham boss noted that any arrival would have to be the right player at the right price, and if that isn’t available then he is happy with his options.
“With Rob and Ryan, our owners, we’ve always identified the players then explained why we feel player X would improve us, what’s he going to cost, wages and made a case for that,” said Parkinson. ”Then we’ve made the decisions accordingly.
“They know what we’d like to do but equally we’re not going to do something for the sake of it and that’s really, really important.
“Sometimes that temptation to go and sign somebody, it can disrupt what you’ve got already and the player you’re bringing in doesn’t significantly improve you.”
“If that opportunity comes along, when we see the right player, the right position and the right value then obviously we will do our best to bring somebody in.
“If not we’ve got a good squad. We’ve got players that are not in the team at the moment waiting patiently for their chance.
“Looking at the squad in general, we’ve got loan players that are out there that we have the ability to call players back. Some of the loans finish in January so we’ve got to make decisions in that department as well,” he added.
Wrexham signed two players in the last January window as Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott arrived, whilst Luke McNicholas saw his loan deal become permanent.
Parkinson may hope for a similar window this time with one or two signings arriving to bolster a promotion push.