Wrexham will not be distracted by derby 'hype'
Wrexham beat Shrewsbury Town in last season's FA Cup courtesy of Tom O'Connor's goal
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Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson acknowledges the importance of this weekend's derby against Shrewsbury Town, but insists his side must remain focused.
Parkinson’s newly-promoted side are unbeaten after their opening four games in League One and are second in the table.
Saturday sees Wrexham host cross-border rivals Shrewsbury at the Stok Racecourse.
“Everywhere you go people talk about the game – it means a lot,” Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.
“We know there’s a lot of local pride in this game.
“It’s having that understanding of what it means but equally the focus of how we need to play to get that result at the weekend.
Boss Phil Parkinson says there is a “great rivalry” between Wrexham and Shrewsbury
“We’ve concentrated and focused really well in the first four games of the season and we don’t want to let the extra bit of hype around the local derby to detract from that whilst making sure motivation levels are high.
“They’ll need to be, but they will be.”
The sides last met in January when then League Two Wrexham won 1-0 at Shrewsbury in an FA Cup third round tie.
Wrexham maintained their impressive start to the season with a 2-0 win at Peterborough United last Saturday.
Parkinson has been pleased with the side’s performance and how the team have coped with life in English football’s third tier.
“It’s important not to get carried away by the start, but obviously take confidence from it,” Parkinson added.
“We’ve gone away to Bolton and Peterborough and come away with four points and that bodes well for the future.
- Published7 January
“It’s important that there’s a clear understanding of not just those games, but also the home games and what we’ve done well and what we need to continue.
“We’ve enjoyed the games and each game has had different elements to it.
“In the main I think we’ve played well – we can always get better and I think that’s key for us not to be patting ourselves on the back too much.
“But the lads are working very hard together and it’s got us to a strong position at this very early stage in the league.”