Wrexham's defensive struggles under Parkinson amid five goals conceded this season

Wrexham AFC's defensive struggles continue as they concede five goals in four matches across all competitions this season. Manager Phil Parkinson expressed his frustration following the Red Dragons' 2-1 defeat to Birmingham City at the Racecourse Ground, highlighting two "soft" goals conceded as key factors in the loss.

Parkinson, who has managed Wrexham since 2021, described the goals conceded against Birmingham City as "two of the softest goals" in his tenure. Captain Dom Hyam echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the team's difficulty in preventing simple chances. "We pride ourselves on being hard to beat and hard to score against," Hyam stated. "We were quite easy to score against tonight."

Wrexham's defensive issues are not new. Last season, the team conceded 65 league goals, the sixth-highest total among Championship sides. Two of the teams that conceded more, Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City, were relegated. Wrexham also faced 203 shots on target, the fourth-highest total in the league, and made 29 defensive errors leading to shots, the sixth-highest tally.

This season, Wrexham has conceded a goal in each of their four matches, with their back three of Zak Vyner, Dom Hyam, and Callum Doyle starting all four games. Parkinson suggested that off-field distractions, including transfer rumors, may have affected his players' performance. "Has that affected us? I don't know," he said. "It looked like it in the first half tonight because I just wanted to see more belief in us."

Hyam acknowledged the need for improvement, stating that the team must find a "horrible" streak to become more solid defensively. "We're a talented group in there, we need to give ourselves a solid base to work off," he said. "Us as defenders need to pride ourselves on being more solid at the back."

Wrexham will look to address their defensive issues when they face Millwall on Wednesday night at 19:45 BST.

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