Dobson grateful for Parkinson's faith at Wrexham

George Dobson joined Wrexham as a free agent during the 2024 summer transfer window after leaving Charlton Athletic

In the aftermath of securing a historic third successive promotion, Wrexham swiftly set about overhauling their squad to cope with the step up to the Championship.

But one man who was already part of the furniture at the Stok Cae Ras has grabbed the opportunity to impress in the second tier with both hands.

Following nine consecutive seasons as a League One player, George Dobson has shone at a higher level this term.

And after his early goal in Wrexham's 1-1 draw with Birmingham City, the central midfielder was quick to thank Phil Parkinson for the faith the manager - who had Dobson in his ranks at Sunderland - has shown in him.

"I've known the gaffer for a long time," said the 27-year-old.

"He put his faith in me a lot when I was younger. To re-sign me and put a lot of faith in me here, I'm very grateful for that.

"I'm just trying to pay him back with my performances and to put everything in for him, the club and my whole family to try and prove I'm good enough to play at the level."

The step up in quality alone may have proven enough of a reason for some to doubt Dobson's ability to succeed in the Championship.

Midfielders Lewis O'Brien, George Thomason and Ben Sheaf were among the 13 new faces to move to north Wales over the summer to further stack the odds against Dobson.

But the London-born midfielder has been a mainstay in the centre of the pitch this term and is one of only six players to feature in each of Wrexham's opening nine league matches.

He is also one of only four players to start every Championship fixture for the club while he joins Wrexham team-mates O'Brien and Max Cleworth in being one of just 34 players across the entire division to play every minute in the league.

His personal stats have been impressive too, with Dobson's 136 final-third passes, 33 tackles and 42 possession-winning actions all being more than any Wrexham player.

"I knew it was going to be really tough to stay in the team given the calibre of players we brought in - I knew it was going to be a challenge," said Dobson.

"Having nine seasons in League One, I really wanted to try and prove that I'm good enough to play in the Championship.

"That's all I'm going to try and do every opportunity I get, to try and stay in the team and hopefully help the team get up the table."

The draw with Birmingham in their final fixture before the October international break means Wrexham - currently 18th in the Championship - are unbeaten in five matches across all competitions.

And Dobson believes some minor adjustments could be key to ensuring the Red Dragons continue to improve.

"Everyone's going to say about pushing as high as we can. It's such a tough league but you look at the results, every week there are so many draws and games won by one goal," added Dobson.

"All it takes is to put a few wins together and you're going to be in a position where as a group you want to be."