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Phil Parkinson insists Wrexham play-off hopes are ‘not over yet’

12 Apr 2026 3 minute read
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson during the Sky Bet Championship match at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. Credit: Lee Keuneke/PA Wire.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson says his side’s hopes of finishing in the play-offs are not over despite their 2-0 defeat to Birmingham at St Andrew’s.

The Blues should have had a first-half lead but Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo made five saves to keep it goalless at the break, but it took just three minutes of the second period for Carlos Vicente to nod the hosts in front.

Birmingham completely dominated the contest and had their second to wrap up the points when Christoph Klarer stabbed in from Paik Seung-Ho’s corner with 19 minutes to play.

Defeat for Wrexham leaves them four points behind the play-offs places with four games to go, but Parkinson says his side will fight till the end for a place in the top six.

He said: “We’ve had a tough week this week. But we’re not down and out yet. It’s not over yet.

“People will probably write us off and you can understand that to a certain degree, but inside the dressing room, we’re not writing ourselves off and we’re one win away from getting ourselves going again.”

Following their 5-1 defeat to Southampton, Wrexham have now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since August 2025.

Wrexham scored in 10 straight away games coming into this one but failed to register a single shot on target, and Parkinson admitted it was a tough day at the office.

He added: “We’re just so disappointed with the goals we’ve conceded today. It was a tough day.

“In every game this season, we’ve carried a threat. We’ve been a goal threat even against Premiership teams in the cup. Today, we just couldn’t find a way to produce that quality.

“I think the biggest problem we’ve had today is coming on the back of a defeat, and we haven’t had many back-to-back defeats.”

Birmingham won for the first time in five games and ended a streak of three straight defeats in the process.

Wrexham’s Callum Doyle (centre) battles for the ball with Birmingham City’s Jay Stansfield (left) and Carlos Vicente (right) during the Sky Bet Championship match at St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. Credit: Lee Keuneke/PA Wire.

Birmingham boss Chris Davies thought his side could have had more than two goals as well.

He said: “I really enjoyed watching the team today, I thought we were excellent throughout.

“When the opposition doesn’t have a shot on your goal, and you score two, could’ve been five really, but that’s everything.

“It’s never easy after you’ve lost a few games and want to bounce back with a win, but I think we needed a big performance, a big statement win.

“But it wasn’t just the win, it was the way we played. We just looked like a team we all want to see. That was a feeling I got.

“We’ve got to keep pushing in this incredibly competitive league to finish as well as we can, but we’re only going to do that if we play with the right intent and attitude.”


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