Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson makes exciting Portsmouth admission after ‘excellent’ Millwall triumph
Pompey’s relentless Championship schedule continues this evening against promotion-hopefuls Wrexham in North Wales.
Phil Parkinson is not underestimating the challenge posing his Wrexham side against Pompey this evening.
And the Red Dragons boss has sung the Blues’ praises after Saturday’s ‘excellent’ 3-1 triumph over promotion-chasing Millwall.
John Mousinho’s men round off their gruelling run of three-successive Championship away games with a 500-plus mile round trip to the Racecourse Ground for the first time in 40 years.
This has stretched the gap to the relegation zone to six points over the past week, with the Blues looking to put further daylight between themselves and the bottom three tonight.
Standing in their way of maximum points are a Wrexham side, who claimed a thrilling 5-3 win over Ipswich Town on Saturday to move into the play-offs.
The Red Dragons have lost just two of their previous 11 league matches and are beginning to hit form at the ideal time as they mount a promotion push in the remaining months of the campaign.
Despite an empathic triumph over their play-off rivals over the weekend, Parkinson is wary of the huge challenge which presents itself against Pompey this evening.
And the head coach is not underestimating Mousinho’s outfit, who have also hit form at the perfect time of the season.
Wrexham boss wary of Portsmouth challenge
Speaking to The Leader, the Wrexham boss said: ‘There were some really good individual performances but we move on quickly. I think that's the key.
‘Pats on the back and we enjoy the moment of the win but very quickly we move on to what is a huge game for us.
‘Portsmouth were excellent at Millwall and a really good performance down at Charlton so we know it's going to be a tough game but any game is going to be tight and competitive.
‘Obviously we take the confidence which the weekend game gave us, but we certainly need to be really focused and make sure there's a real clear understanding of what we need to do against Portsmouth.
‘Portsmouth's win at Millwall is an example that anybody can beat anybody. There's very tight margins separating teams at this level from the top right to the bottom.
‘You want to be challenging and I think most teams in the division are challenging, it's so tight. We're in a strong position and the aim is to still be in that strong position come 10 o'clock.’
Pompey and Wrexham played out their first meeting in 39 years with a goalless draw at Fratton Park at the beginning of November.
This evening’s trip to North Wales represents the first contest between the two sides at the Racecourse Ground since 1986, where the Blues claimed a 2-1 League Cup win.