One win from seven Championship games, a 6-0 drubbing at West Ham, and a fanbase already rattling the cage. Phil Parkinson's start to life in the second tier has not gone to plan — and the knives are out.
But Waynne Phillips, who pulled on the Wrexham shirt for nearly 250 games across 14 years at the club, isn't joining the chorus. Speaking on BBC Radio Cymru, the former midfielder pointed to a pattern he's seen before: "I remember in the National League, if Wrexham went a game or two without winning, everyone would want Phil Parkinson out. But he's someone who can bounce back really well."
That's not blind loyalty. Phillips has a point. Parkinson took over in July 2021 with Wrexham sitting in English football's fifth tier. Three consecutive promotions followed — 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 — a run that's as clean as it gets in the Football League pyramid. The Championship is a different animal, and a rocky start doesn't erase that record.
The pressure coming from the top is real
Parkinson called the West Ham loss one of the lowest moments of his tenure. That's saying something, given the turbulence Wrexham has weathered since Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over. But the Hollywood owners didn't invest in this project to consolidate in the Championship. McElhenney said it plainly before the season began: "We want to win the Championship, go to the Premier League — that is the entire endeavour."
Wrexham have never played in England's top division. The ambition is legitimate, but the gap between aspiration and their current form is hard to ignore. One point dropped every six games is a relegation trajectory, not a promotion one. Any Championship betting market with Wrexham involved deserves a long, hard look right now.
What comes next matters more than what just happened
The 6-0 itself is a result to move past — West Ham are a Premier League club with Premier League resources, and heavy cup losses happen. The Championship run of form is the real problem. Parkinson knows the league, knows how to build, and has already done things at Wrexham that very few managers could have pulled off. But that currency only lasts so long when the owners have explicitly said they want to win now.
Phillips' read is probably right. Parkinson will be given time. The question is whether Wrexham's squad — assembled for a club making its Championship debut — is actually built to compete at this level, or whether this season was always going to be a painful education.
"He's been about long enough to know there will be difficult periods and difficult nights," Phillips said. Friday at the London Stadium certainly qualified.
