Phil Parkinson’s pride: ‘We did it when it mattered most’

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson was full of praise for his team after they clinched back-to-back promotions with a 6-0 thrashing of Forest Green Rovers.

He said: “I’m immensely proud of the lads today because, if you look at the Tuesday performance (a 4-1 win over Crawley) and today, when it mattered most we’ve put in our two best performances of the season.

“It’s never easy with Forest Green’s low block making it difficult, but it was important we showed that we’d learned from when we played them last time and I think some of our football was of a very high standard today.

“I came into the game not expecting other results to go our way, I think that’s the best way to approach it.

“It wasn’t until about two minutes to go when my son George, who’s our analyst, gave me the rundown and obviously then you know it’s a done deal. I’m just so pleased.

“It’s a great achievement for everybody connected with the club, it really is.

“There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes, it really is a team effort at Wrexham, everybody pulls together and I have to include the supporters in that because, home and away, they’ve been absolutely magnificent for us. They’ve stayed with us, kept the faith and the belief and they’ve got their rewards today.”

Wrexham’s Hollywood star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney revelled in the club’s second successive promotion as the Dragons sealed their place in League One next season.

Joyous fans poured on to the pitch to celebrate at the end of a dominant display at the Racecourse Ground.

The hosts led 4-0 at half-time thank to two goals from Paul Mullin, one from Elliot Lee and a Ryan Inniss own goal.

Ryan Barnett and Jack Marriott completed a memorable day for the Dragons with strikes in the second half.

Deadpool star Reynolds said on X: “A few years ago, if you told me I would be crying tears of joy over a football match taking place in north Wales, you would be Rob McElhenney. Congrats to Wrexham and to my co-chairman in crime. Double up the town! This is the ride of our lives.”

McElhenney wrote simply: “No words.”

The pair’s takeover in February 2021 has contributed to worldwide attention for the club.

While Wrexham can look forward to League One football next season, Forest Green remain rooted to the foot of the table and facing the very real prospect of relegation.

Boss Steve Cotterill was in no mood to defend his players.

“That 90 minutes sums up our season, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with that,” he said.

“They’re better than us, let’s make no bones about it. We know they’re better than us – if you look at the league table every team is better than us – but fundamentally that dressing room hasn’t functioned properly all season.

“For a time I managed to breathe a bit of life into it. I definitely think that the fixtures we’ve had of late have been really difficult, it’s been really tough and we haven’t been good enough to beat those teams.

“I’ve said to them I hope it hurts them as much as it hurts me.”