Wrexham's Phil Parkinson Reflects on Draw with Burnley
Phil Parkinson admitted Wrexham are still some way from their best after being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Burnley at the Racecourse.
The Red Dragons had to come from behind, Jacques Ekomie rising in the second half to head them level against a side who kicked off the night bottom of the Championship. The point keeps Wrexham unbeaten in three, but the wait for a first home win of the season goes on.
Parkinson arrived at this one on the back of a convincing 3-0 victory at Millwall and a disciplined 0-0 at Swansea. Those two displays had been built on control without the ball. This one, he felt, was not.
"There are things we can do better," the Wrexham manager said, cutting straight to the heart of it after the final whistle.
Burnley tweaked their approach and Wrexham never quite adjusted in time. The visitors found gaps, especially before the break, and Parkinson did not hide from that.
"Without the ball, tactically we didn't get it quite right," he said. "They changed a couple of things and we were also a bit passive in terms of the way we pressed as well."
The contrast with those away performances in South Wales and at The Den clearly bothered him. At Swansea and Millwall, Wrexham had barely allowed a clear sight of goal. Against Burnley, too many pockets of space opened up in dangerous areas.
"If you look at the Swansea and Millwall games we restricted two teams to hardly a shot on goal," Parkinson pointed out. "Against Burnley there was just a bit too much space in areas and we need to look at that."
The problem, in his eyes, was not just positioning but mentality. Wrexham dropped off, inviting pressure instead of squeezing the game higher up.
"We got caught 10 to 15 yards too deep at times," he said. "At half-time we rectified that and the pressing was loads better."
That adjustment helped turn the tide and paved the way for Ekomie’s equaliser, a reminder that this Wrexham side can still hurt teams when they play with conviction.
Unbeaten, but still winless at home. The platform is there; now Parkinson wants the ruthlessness to match it.
