Phil Parkinson makes honest Wrexham promotion admission after shock FA Cup exit

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has made an honest admission about his team’s promotion chances after being knocked out of the FA Cup.

The League One outfit were on the receiving end of an upset after losing 1-0 away at League Two side Harrogate Town yesterday afternoon in a fixture shown live on ITVX.

The Red Dragons were undone by a first-half goal from Jack Muldoon, who rose highest to nod home a corner in the 24th minute.

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Despite having numerous chances to equalise, Wrexham exited the competition in the first round for the first time since 2021 when they lost to the same opponents.

The result stands in contrast to the club’s positive start to life in the third tier, where they currently sit third in the table.

However, Parkinson was eager to calm talk of his side’s prospects of achieving an unprecedented third successive promotion when interviewed after the full-time whistle.

He told ITV: “It’s so early in the season to start talking about promotion. We’re a quarter of the way into the season, and there's a lot of football to play.

“We've got a lot of improving to do, and this is a reality check for us. We’ll get back in training, ready to work again for next week against Mansfield.”

Wrexham created a number of chances during the game, but both star striker Paul Mullin and his partner Ollie Palmer lacked accuracy in front of goal.

Mo Faal, who joined the club from West Brom in the summer, appeared to have equalised late in the second half after coming on as a substitute.

However, the Gambian forward’s headed effort was ruled offside in what Parkinson felt was a close call, despite admitting Wrexham were not ruthless enough in attack.

He said: “I thought we dominated the game for the first 25 minutes. There was probably not enough conviction in our crossing and our finishing, and then we gave a team who are good at hanging in there in games the opportunity to do that in the second half.

“We pinned them in for practically the whole game and we’ve had about 30 crosses over the course of the game into the box.

“We couldn't find that moment, and when we did, the linesman ruled it offside, which looks a very, very marginal call to me.

“A lot of our approach play was good, but football’s about doing things in and around the penalty box, being clinical and having that ruthless edge. We didn't show that enough today.”