Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has spoken about Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson ahead of their FA Cup third round clash
Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has lavished praise on Phil Parkinson for his crucial contribution to Wrexham‘s remarkable rise through the football pyramid. The Red Dragons will pause their Championship campaign on Friday night when they welcome struggling Premier League outfit Forest in the FA Cup third round.
Ex-Sunderland manager Parkinson has overseen an astonishing hat-trick of successive promotions since arriving at Wrexham in July 2021, guiding them from the National League into the second tier. The Welsh club, owned by Hollywood A-listers Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, are currently challenging near the summit of the Championship, occupying ninth position in the standings – merely one point adrift of the play-off places.
Parkinson reached the landmark of his 1,000th match in management last year and Dyche has been thoroughly impressed by the achievements he has delivered at Wrexham.
Speaking before the cup tie, he said: “I know [Phil] Parkinson – what a job he’s done. I think it’s over 1,000 games now, which is incredible in itself. A relatively young manager at 58.
“I’ve seen his career from afar for a long time now. I’ve played against him, I’ve seen his teams have great success, and he’s been more or less successful everywhere he’s been.
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“He’s certainly done a brilliant job there – in positive circumstances but it’s still quite interesting circumstances with a lot of noise off the pitch. He just keeps under the radar and keeps his team going.”
Dyche’s side are battling to remain in the Premier League and enter this fixture following a crucial 2-1 victory over fellow relegation candidates West Ham on Tuesday evening. The result lifted Forest seven points clear of the drop zone, and Dyche is pleased with the transformation since his October appointment.
He said: “We’ve done a lot of work since we got here. We were two points in it [relegation] and now we’re seven points out of it, so it’s a pretty big shift over the games we’ve had.
“Nine points out of the past eight games doesn’t seem a lot, but when you look at the actual table and the teams in that period, it’s hard to get points in the Premier League. So to turn that gap around has been pleasing.”
Wrexham enter the cup tie having secured four straight victories during the Christmas period. Their impressive run has positioned Parkinson’s men for another potential promotion push, though he’s determined to embrace their underdog role against Forest.
He said: “Forest have had a little bit of a dip of late but when Sean first went there, they picked up some brilliant results. They have got some really good players but equally, we are looking forward to testing ourselves against the next level of good players.
“It’s a good week for us in terms of going into it in good spirits after the Christmas period. You always enjoy these cup games more if you are in good league form and we have been able to do that.
“We will think long and hard about the team for Friday and put everything into the game to give a good account of ourselves against a Premier League team and try and get into the next round.”
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