Clean sheets and Van Dijk inspiration as Wrexham move upwards

Wrexham are unbeaten in six league matches at the Stok Cae Ras, winning their previous four in succession

Wrexham's impressive run continued as they closed in on the Championship's play-off places with a 2-0 victory over Bristol City.

The Red Dragons sit just two points adrift of the top six having extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches.

Phil Parkinson stressed his side will not be getting carried away with their resurgence, but there was once again a huge amount for the manager to be pleased with as his side delivered a key victory.

BBC Sport Wales looks at the stats and other factors behind Wrexham's rise up the table - including inspiration from a Liverpool icon.

Broadhead works his magic

Nathan Broadhead was handed just a fourth league start of the season against Gerhard Struber's side, and the club's record signing rewarded the faith shown in him by Parkinson.

The Wales international's majestic curling strike gave the hosts an early lead - his fourth goal of the campaign for Wrexham.

According to WhoScored.com, the 27-year-old made three key passes, the joint-most of any Wrexham player alongside Kieffer Moore, and had a pass accuracy of 88.9%, with only Dan Scarr (89.6%) achieving a better return.

Broadhead made one successful dribble and won two free-kicks in addition to contributing a tackle and two clearances defensively.

"I'm pleased with Nathan tonight, I thought he was really good," Parkinson said.

"I thought we got him the ball in some really good areas and he didn't disappoint."

Thou shalt not pass

Wrexham have had no problems scoring goals this season, but their defensive record was a real concern early on in the campaign.

The Red Dragons conceded an average of two goals per game across their first six league matches, but in the 11 outings since, they are conceding an average of just over 0.6 goals per game.

They have also kept four successive league clean sheets - their best run since the same stage of last season.

It is just the third time since Parkinson took charge in 2021 that Wrexham have posted four consecutive league clean sheets in the same season.

They have never managed five league clean sheets in a row under Parkinson - last doing so under Dean Keates in the opening stages of the 2017-18 season.

"We spoke about it early in the season, football is about making sure you're threatening at one end but you're secure when you're attacking and I think we've got a lot better at that as the season has gone on," said Parkinson.

A new first could be ticked in the Parkinson era should they shut out Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Liverpool icon's inspiration

Reigning Premier League champions Liverpool have lost nine of their past 12 games in all competitions

In the aftermath of Wrexham's latest positive result, Parkinson was quick to temper expectations.

And the 57-year-old revealed he used the recent comments of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk as inspiration to warn his side about becoming complacent.

"I think it's a case of making sure we don't get carried away," the Wrexham boss explained.

"I spoke to the lads before the game, I was listening to Virgil van Dijk's interview after the Nottingham Forest defeat and he was speaking about how Liverpool have got to win the first and second balls, be competitive, got to work as a team and how they've got to get their way back with the basics in football.

"So that's the champions of England talking like that.

"We're not going to get carried away, it's now concentration levels on picking the right team for the weekend, start doing our homework on Blackburn and get ready for another terrific atmosphere here on Saturday."

Smith embodies squad options

Having made 13 signings in the summer, there were always going to be some players who struggled to get regular action at the Stok Cae Ras.

Sam Smith played a pivotal role in helping Wrexham gain promotion from League One having joined the club from Reading in January.

But the forward has been among those struggling to get consistent minutes - with Saturday's 0-0 draw at Ipswich Town being his sole league start of the campaign.

The strength of the squad has been a real positive for the Welsh side though, with Smith typifying what Parkinson wants from those coming off the bench.

"I've got to mention Sam again because I thought his work for the team at Ipswich was outstanding," said Parkinson.

"Sometimes it's only when you watch the game back again in the cold light of day, how he pressed and recovered into the right positions. I'm very pleased with Sam and his chance will come again either with Kieffer or if we freshen the team up."

He added: "You look at all teams, it's been having that bench, to be able to go bang.

"There's impact from the bench, freshness when you need it, but also from game to game."

Unfortunate Thomason remains lucky

George Thomason was incredibly unfortunate not to score his first goal for the club in spectacular fashion from a corner - with Bristol City goalkeeper Radek Vitek being credited with an own goal.

But the midfielder - who has now started three successive league matches for the club for the first time - once again demonstrated his influence is growing at Wrexham following a difficult start in north Wales due to injury.

"I haven't seen [the goal] back but I think George was really good tonight and I'm so pleased for him because as everybody knows, he came in, got his injury and now he's really shown himself at this level and produced lots of good performances," Parkinson said of Thomason.

"I felt he typified what we needed tonight. He was industrious in his play but he played with real quality and composure in possession as well."

The victory over the Robins also means the 24-year-old has not been on the losing side in any of his eight Championship outings since joining the Red Dragons from Bolton Wanderers.

"I'm trying not to keep that on my mind. But it's not a bad record to keep, so long may it continue," Thomason said.