The dust has barely settled on another successful season, but Phil Parkinson is already planning the next chapter in Wrexham’s story.
The 56-year-old has led the North Wales club to back-to-back promotions.
In the space of 18 months, they will go from playing games against Altrincham and Dorking Wanderers in the National League to facing Birmingham City and Huddersfield Town in League One next season.
Even for the Hollywood-owned club, the last three years have been a whirlwind for a man who began his managerial career at Colchester United 21 years ago.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp enters the final days of his tenure at Anfield, stepping down after saying he was “running out of energy”, while Parkinson, on the other hand, is “excited” about the challenges ahead for him and his League. One-way club.
“He is [Klopp] probably thinking that he has taken Liverpool as far as he can in terms of winning the title and that there is a bit of a transition going on there,” Parkinson said.
“Perhaps it is the right time for him to retire.
“Speaking of energy levels and tiredness, personally I feel great and I’m really looking forward to the new season.
“When you’re at a club like Wrexham and the history we’re in, you can’t help but be excited about it.”
Wrexham players marked another successful season with a high-profile trip to Las Vegas, organized by the club’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Parkinson and his management team made a more low-key trip abroad to mark the end of the season and a second successive promotion.
“The whole team went to Spain for three days, which was great to get everyone together,” Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.
“We had a few rounds of golf and time to reflect on the season.
“I’m enjoying a break, but the work continues as we have a busy summer ahead.
“A break for me is summer. Even though it’s a job, it’s a different kind of job and I don’t need much to rejuvenate myself and be ready to go back.”
During his three years at Stok Racecourse, Parkinson was often asked about how he deals with the pressure and expectations of managing the club.
After all, Wrexham now have as high a profile as some of the game’s biggest clubs thanks to the support of Reynolds and McElhenney and the Disney+ documentary ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
“The best way to deal with pressure is to build a good team and win football games – that’s the key,” says Parkinson with a smile.
“I remember many years ago when I was in Bradford and Steve and I [Parkin] took over a very bad team in the second division.
“The first season was a struggle to keep Bradford in the division.
“Both owners, Mark Lawn and Julian Rhodes, were Bradford fans and felt immense pressure.
“I remember saying to Mark Lawn in the summer, ‘Look, to alleviate the pressure we all had, let’s work hard this summer to put a good team on the field, because winning football games is what matters.’
“That’s what we did – we spent the summer working tirelessly to build the squad.
“Pressure is when you are fighting to get to the bottom of the table and when you can build teams that can compete, then it alleviates the pressure.
“Expectation? Since I’ve been at Wrexham, I think you deal with that by having good people around you, a great relationship with the club owners.
“Rob and Ryan, Shaun Harvey and people like that who are great and people who work with me as well.
“We are a team – we work as a team. The strength of this helps you through difficult times.”
Parkinson’s main focus over the summer will be strengthening a squad ready for the challenge of League One, the club’s first time in the third tier of English football since 2005.
But the coach is meticulous when signing new recruits, not only judging them on their playing ability but also on how they would handle the club’s high profile.
“There are a few situations at play at Wrexham,” Parkinson added.
“One is learning to deal with all the extra exposure in terms of documentary and club profile.
“Two is not to let yourself get carried away and affect the level of performance and professionalism during the week and on Saturday.
“I think that’s key to identifying the players who are going to embrace that and say ‘Yes, I want to be part of this’, but also understanding that Wrexham is a working class town and that’s what we represent.
“I’m really pleased that in recent years you can actually count the performances on one hand and be able to say that we didn’t show up.
“Normally when the lads put on Wrexham shirts there is a total and committed performance from us.
“That’s the balance we need to find in new players.
“It takes a certain amount of courage to play in front of a full house every week and leaving home anywhere is a full house, shoulders back ‘Yes, I’m a good player, I want to be part of this’ but remaining equally humble at the same time. time.”
