Wrexham

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Wrexham forward Elliot Lee has resumed training but will not feature against Mansfield Town in League One on Sunday, says manager Phil Parkinson.

Lee was involved in a road traffic collision on his return home after helping Wrexham beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 in the EFL Trophy on 11 February.

The 30-year-old missed Wrexham's last two games after suffering bruising to his ribs in the incident, which Parkinson says left the player "very shaken up".

"Elliot was back on the grass this morning, running," Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.

"I think the weekend will be too early for him but it's just good to have him back out there.

"Obviously we were concerned about Elliot and the trauma of the crash etc. The last couple of days he's felt better and he's been back with the lads doing the warm-up on the training pitch.

"It's a great lift for everybody to see him back out there."

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Wycombe Wanderers striker Sam Vokes has backed Phil Parkinson's suggestion that League One is as strong as it has ever been.

Wrexham boss Parkinson made the claim after seeing his side lose at home to Leyton Orient in midweek.

That defeat leaves Wrexham third in the table, five points behind second-placed Wycombe as they prepare for a trip to Mansfield Town on Sunday.

Veteran ex-Wales international Vokes, who made his first Wycombe appearance since August last weekend, says the style of football has changed in the third tier.

"The way football is moving in general, I think the quality that's dripping down the levels is so high," he told this week's Feast of Football podcast.

"You only have to go back a few years and you see a lot more teams going back to front more.

"I am not saying [changing] that improves football necessarily, but it improves the standard of players playing at that level because of the way teams are playing out from the back. It's very much a more tactical game than physical game in League One now.

"You look at the money spent by the Wrexhams, the Huddersfields and the Birminghams. The transfer fees being asked for at this level now are huge."

Wrexham are in need of a boost at Mansfield having lost four of their past eight league games.

Wycombe, meanwhile, are at home to Wgan on Saturday having lost only once since the turn of the year.

"I think everyone in the top half really back themselves for a run to get into the play-offs," Vokes added.

"Teams at the bottom are picking up points too, so I would definitely agree it's a strong league this year."

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Waynne Phillips says it "seems a little crazy" that Paul Mullin cannot make Wrexham's bench as the Dragons look to maintain their push for automatic promotion to the Championship.

Mullin was a star of Wrexham's rise from the National League to the third tier, scoring 72 goals across two campaigns as Phil Parkinson's men claimed successive promotions.

But the 30-year-old striker has had far less impact in League One, scoring only three third-tier goals so far this term.

Mullin was once again missing from Parkinson's 18-man squad as Wrexham were beaten at home by Leyton Orient on Tuesday.

The former Cambridge player has not featured since Wrexham signed fellow forwards Jay Rodriguez and Sam Smith at the back end of the mid-season transfer window.

Rodriguez and Smith started against Orient, with Steven Fletcher and Jack Marriott coming off the bench as Mullin missed out along with the likes of Ollie Palmer and Mo Faal.

"For me there's something not right - to not have Paul Mullin in and around the squad seems a little bit crazy," former Wrexham midfielder Phillips told BBC Radio Wales.

"But Phil Parkinson is the manager. He has done particularly well for Wrexham over the last two or three seasons and you have to accept that he is the man who picks the side."

Phillips felt Parkinson's men could have no complaints after the Orient loss, Wrexham's second in succession on their own patch.

While Wrexham have progressed in the EFL trophy – and won League One games at Crawley and Northampton this month – they go to Mansfield Town on Sunday having lost four of their past eight third-tier games.

The dip in form means Wrexham, in third, are five points adrift of second-placed Wycombe Wanderers in the table with 15 league games to play.

"There have been a couple of wins which have taken them into the semi-final of the EFL Trophy, but automatic promotion is what they are after and they cannot afford to have this bad run at this stage in the season," Phillips added.

"The last thing Wrexham want going into the last 10 games is to be under big pressure. There are 15 games to go, a lot of points to play for, but they need to pull themselves out of the form they are in at the moment."

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Phil Parkinson says there is plenty of time for Wrexham to put things right after losing back-to-back league games at the Stok Racecourse for the first time in his Wrexham reign.

Leyton Orient came from behind to surprise Wrexham after Ollie Rathbone (pictured below) had put Parkinson's team ahead in front of their own fans on Tuesday night.

The result came after defeat to Stevenage in the previous League One outing at home – Wrexham's first loss on their own patch all season.

While there was an EFL Trophy quarter-final win over Bolton in between, Wrexham have not lost successive home league games since April 2021, two months after the club's Hollywood takeover by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and shortly before Parkinson was named manager.

Wrexham, who were at that stage managed by Dean Keates, lost to Torquay and Stockport to lose ground in the National League play-off chase.

Four years on, Wrexham are chasing promotion to the Championship, but have seen a five-point gap open up between themselves and second-placed Wycombe Wanderers.

With leaders Birmingham City 11 points clear of the Red Dragons with two games in hand, many fans are eyeing up a battle for the other automatic promotion spot with the Chairboys.

The two hopefuls will face each other next month during a hectic run of games for Parkinson, who has twice won promotion as a manager from the third tier.

He said: "Like everybody you look at the results – as on Saturday when we won and they (Wycombe) had drawn – but there's other teams in the mix.

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"The division is as strong as its ever been. It's not just me saying it, every manager you come up against speaks about the strength of the division.

"The teams down the bottom improve, teams like Orient make some good signings and get better.

"We've done brilliantly to be where we are, we really have, but we're not happy with it – we want to build on it from now until the end of the season.

"There is a lot of football to be played and we have to focus on ourselves, that's all we can control."

Wrexham's have 15 league games remaining, starting with a trip to Mansfield on Sunday.

They will go in search of a third away league win in a row having had some difficulties on the road this term.

"We're disappointed but we have to move on quickly and we'll go to Mansfield looking for a more consistent performance," Parkinson added.

"Games are coming quickly so we have the chance to put it right."

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Sam Smith is looking to learn from new strike partner and fellow Wrexham new boy Jay Rodriguez.

Smith and former England international Rodriguez joined the League One promotion chasers during the January transfer window.

"He's a quality player – he's a clever player," Smith said of former Burnley and West Brom forward Rodriguez.

"We're just trying to build a relationship as quickly as we can.

"It's difficult coming in halfway through the season and not having much time to train or work on things.

"I ask him questions all the time because he's obviously a great player with a great career. The quicker I can learn off him and improve my own game, the better for the team."

Smith scored his first goal for Wrexham in last Saturday's 2-0 win at Northampton Town, which kept them in the promotion hunt in third.

He latched on to goalkeeper Mark Howard's long ball to hit Wrexham's opener in the 19th minute.

"It's a special moment and probably a moment I will never forget," Smith said.

"More importantly it was a good performance and three points.

"Hopefully I can keep contributing and help pushing for promotion. Every performance now is important."

Smith joined Wrexham from League One rivals Reading for an undisclosed fee.

The 26-year-old said he was excited by the Wrexham "project", though he had mixed feelings on leaving a club where he was in his second spell having originally come through the academy.

"It was difficult leaving Reading with my association there and what the club meant to me," Smith added.

"But it was a difficult period for the club there and I got told a bid had been accepted and the club needed the money to keep the club going."

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Wrexham midfielder Ollie Rathbone says he is pleased with his goal return for the club so far this season.

Rathbone scored Wrexham's second goal in Saturday's 2-0 win at Northampton, his fourth this season.

The midfielder, who joined Wrexham from Rotherham United last July, said: "It was something I really wanted to add to my game.

"It's something I've wanted to improve because I knew I had it in me.

"I've probably just put more emphasis on it and I've really tried working on it in training so my confidence is up.

"I think the competition for places makes it hugely important – all the other midfielders are chipping in with goals so it's important I keep doing that.

"I'm really glad to be contributing goals and assists and helping the team ultimately."

Rathbone hopes Wrexham can make a winning home league return when they host Leyton Orient on Tuesday evening.

Wrexham are unbeaten in their last four games in all competitions but lost their last home league fixture at the Stok Racecourse 3-2 to Stevenage at the end of January.

It was Wrexham's first league loss at home this season.

"It was really disappointing but if you'd have said at the start of the season that in February we'd lost only one league game at home then we'd have taken it," Rathbone said.

"It was really important we bounced back against Bolton [in the EFL Trophy] and then we'll hope to carry on our winning run on Tuesday.

"They're [Leyton Orient] in play-off contention and on a brilliant run since the start of the year and we won't take them lightly."

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Phil Parkinson believes Wrexham's run in the EFL Trophy will help keep his squad sharp for the business end of the season.

A much-changed Wrexham side beat 2023 winners Bolton Wanderers at the Stok Racecourse in Tuesday night's quarter-final to progress to the last four, where they will meet Peterborough United.

With fringe players getting a chance to shine, manager Parkinson hopes the entire squad will be stronger for their promotion push in League One.

"Now we've got players really up to speed for this run of games we've got coming up because we'll be utilising the the group all the way through to the end of the season," Parkinson said.

"It's a competition which is always low-key at the start and your attitude has got to be right - and ours has been fantastic

"That's a credit to the professionalism of the staff and the group. We've won every game I think apart from the draw in the final group game at Port Vale.

"It's about professionalism, playing with pride every week and and we've done that. When that [Peterborough] game comes, we'll be ready and we'll pick a team we feel is right

"We've got a lot of players in the squad where there's not a lot in it so it's not a case of weakening the team when we leave players out because we've got good players who can step in and and some have made claims [against Bolton] to to be involved again."

Wrexham return to league action with a trip to Northampton Town on Saturday.

Parkinson's men are third in League One and four points behind Wycombe Wanderers in the second automatic promotion place.

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Wrexham have confirmed the date for their EFL Trophy semi-final - with a potential third 'Hollywood Derby' at Wembley on the line.

Phil Parkinson's side beat 2023 winners Bolton Wanderers at the Stok Racecourse in Tuesday night's quarter-final to progress to the last four of the competition.

They will now face holders Peterborough United at home, with the tie taking place on Wednesday, 26 February (19:30 GMT).

The game is being held 24 hours after Rhian Wilkinson's Wales welcome Sweden to the Stok Racecourse in the Nations League.

League Two Bradford City take on Wrexham's promotion rivals Birmingham City in the other EFL Trophy semi-final on Tuesday, 18 February.

Wins for Wrexham and Birmingham would set up a Wembley meeting for the two third-tier clubs, whose games this year have generated attention thanks to the sides' high-profile owners.

But Wrexham will first have to get past a Peterborough side managed by Darren Ferguson, who was a goalscoring captain when Wrexham last won the competition in 2005.

The final will take place on Sunday, 13 April.

Wrexham's home League One game against Leyton Orient will take place on Tuesday, 18 February 18 - Kick-Off 19:45 GMT.

The game had been originally scheduled for last Saturday but was postponed due to Orient's FA Cup fourth round tie against Manchester City.

Wrexham face Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday, 11 February in the EFL Trophy.

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Wrexham celebrated the fourth anniversary of their Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney takeover by spreading their name even further across the United States.

And that's after the Hollywood story has already seen their social media profile rise by more than 2,000%.

Celebrity pair Reynolds and McElhenney formally became co-owners of the north Wales club on 9 February 2021.

Since then, the club has won two promotions to go from worries about relegation to the National League North to challenging for a place in next season's Championship.

It's come after 135 wins from 223 games – a win ration of just under 61% - with 455 goals scored in the process, with a total of 55 signings made over four years.

But the most eye-catching figures are that of their social media profile – something likely to have been increased by a Superbowl advert featuring Phil Parkinson and his side with Magic Mike star Channing Tatum.

The ad for one of their official sponsors sees the squad practice dance celebrations and was due to be screened during the NFL showpiece final between Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

Known for their celebrity ads, spots are said to cost around $8m to reach an estimated audience of more than 120m.

It could well boost Wrexham's social media followers that already total more than 4.1m – 2,390% up on figures of 165,000 before Reynolds and McElhenney's high-profile involvement.

The club have gone from 41,000 followers on Instagram to 1.4m, with 1.6m new followers on TikTok, the platform that previously sponsored club shirts.

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Bolton look set to be without top scorer Aaron Collins in their bid to derail Wrexham's Wembley dreams on Tuesday night.

Wrexham are two wins from returning to the showpiece stadium having reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Trophy – a competition they are looking to win 20 years after doing so under Denis Smith.

But the tournament's two most recent winners stand in their way - holders Peterborough United await the winners of the last-eight tie between Phil Parkinson's side and 2023 champions Bolton.

Although promotion to the Championship remains the priority at the Racecourse, some fans – including former player Waynne Phillips – are dreaming of a double.

And their hopes could be boosted with the news that Wanderers will travel to north Wales with limited options, including a fitness doubt over former Wales Under-19 international Collins.

The ex-Newport County frontman has 15 goals this season, including six in the EFL trophy – making him the competition's leading scorer.

But he missed Saturday's comeback win over Crawley in League One with a hip problem picked up in training with new boss Steve Schumacher hoping his absence is "not too serious".

Bolton could also be waiting for news on the fitness of January loan signing Kion Etete, the Cardiff frontman also missing the 4-3 home victory after a thigh complaint suffered in the warm-up.

With Hungary international Szabolcs Schon suspended and three others – including weekend goalscorer Alex Murphy on loan from Newcastle – cup-tied, as well as other longer-term injuries, Wrexham's hopes of making progress into a home semi-final with Posh later this month could be boosted.

Parkinson has used the competition to make widespread changes to his team, including ten for the rearranged last-16 win over Port Vale last week.

But having had no weekend game to contend with, Parkinson could be tempted to go stronger – with January recruit Sam Smith available having not featured for Reading earlier in the competition.

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Wrexham will host Peterborough United in the semi-final of the EFL Trophy if they can win next Tuesday's quarter-final against Bolton Wanderers.

Wrexham thumped Port Vale earlier this week to set up the last-eight encounter with Bolton, which will be played at the Stok Racecourse.

Should they progress, Phil Parkinson's side will be back on home turf to face holders Peterborough in the week commencing 24 February.

In the other semi-final, Birmingham City were drawn at home to Bradford City.