Ian Parker, Press Association
Phil Parkinson was delighted with the reaction of his players as a 4-1 win over Championship strugglers Preston eased the pressure on the Wrexham boss.
In a week that has seen Steven Gerrard linked with the club after a 2-1 home defeat to West Brom left them at the wrong end of the table, Wrexham took out their frustrations on Preston to move up to 14th.
Although Alfie Devine cancelled out Joe Worrall’s first goal in two years, former Preston midfielder Ben Whiteman scored against his old club before Sam Smith and Kieffer Moore made sure of the points with two quick goals either side of the hour mark.
The final score perhaps flattered Wrexham, but the key point for Parkinson was to respond to Tuesday’s defeat.
“I thought the lads stood up and were counted today individually and collectively,” Parkinson said.
“A lot of really solid performances from the lads.
“It was great to get back in with the lads on Thursday, galvanise the group, and look at the detail of where we needed to improve, and I thought the lads implemented (it) so well.
“I could go through a lot of individuals who I’m so pleased with, because we showed character, we showed mentality. It’s an important win for us.”
Parkinson got a big show of support from Wrexham fans before kick-off, and returned that appreciation as he and his players put a tough week behind them.
“I’ve been a manager for a long time, I’ve managed over 1000 games, and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of it,” Parkinson said.
“Defeats hurt as much as my first ever defeat when I was Colchester manager, which is good, because you don’t want to ever accept it, but you kind of get rid of the disappointment quicker.
“The next thing is the challenge of the next game, and the staff and the players have all risen to that brilliantly today.”
Preston remain rock bottom, yet to pick up a point since the arrival of Graham Alexander during the international break, and have now conceded four goals in back-to-back games following Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to Birmingham.
Alexander could argue that, at least this time, 4-1 was harsh on his players, but there are no easy fixes for their problems as their wait for a clean sheet equalled a club record at 26 league matches.
“We just conceded goals that we shouldn’t,” Alexander said. “And I think if you look at the opportunities we had, certainly at the start of the second half when it was 2-1, if we take one of those it’s potentially a different game.
“But we’ve got a little bit of a soft spot at the moment that gets exposed at this level and we have to work out how to fix it.”
The grind of Championship fixtures has afforded Alexander little time to work on specifics with his side, and he warned there is still much work to be done.
“I haven’t got magic dust,” he added. “We have to work. But I still think there’s improvements and I have to look at whether I’m asking too much of the players at this moment considering where we are.”
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