Parkinson ponders changes for Wrexham's Oxford test

Phil Parkinson took charge of Wrexham in the summer of 2021

Phil Parkinson says Nathan Broadhead and Sam Smith are among those who are in his selection thoughts for Wrexham's Championship fixture with Oxford United on Wednesday night (19:45 BST).

The Red Dragons are seeking a first home league win of the campaign having seen their five-match unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end last time out with a 1-0 loss to Stoke City.

And Parkinson says summer signings Broadhead and Smith - who impressed off the bench at the bet365 Stadium - are in his thinking for the visit of Gary Rowett's side given that Wrexham are in the midst of a run that sees them play seven games in 22 days.

When asked if the duo were in contention to start this week, the 57-year-old responded: "Yes, without a doubt.

"Irrespective of the result at the weekend, we're going into a period of games where we've got to look at all of the options that are available to us.

"The lads who came off the bench did well so we'll pick a team that we feel is best to perform across the 90 minutes with a strong bench to enhance the ability to do that."

Defeat to the Potters leaves Wrexham in 18th place in the Championship, just three points and four spots above the relegation zone with 10 matches played.

And after feeling his players somewhat deviated from the game plan at Stoke, Parkinson has urged the squad to stick to the methods that have yielded three successive promotions during his leadership.

"Over the years I've been here, we've had a lot of big games in in lots of different divisions," explained Parkinson.

"We've gone behind in a lot of high-profile games, but we've stuck to the process and found a way back into them and I just felt there was that little bit of desperation in our play in the second period, and we had no need to be like that.

"I felt there were going to be moments if we continued in the way we played in the first period."