Wrexham may soon find themselves with a decision to make over Phil Parkinson after a rotten start to the season that has left them with just 14 points from 13 games and sitting only five points above the relegation zone.

Parkinson has worked wonders with the Red Dragons over the years, and he is a big reason why Wrexham find themselves playing in the Championship today. He even led them to within a whisker of the playoffs last season, but there have been no signs of progress this season.

That's despite Wrexham spending another £33.5million this summer, taking their spending totals for the last two summers up to £66.5million, which is a gigantic spend for a Championship club.

Expectations have risen and Parkinson is struggling to keep up. There has long been a debate about the style of football Parkinson has employed, and the vintage nature of it, but as the current Wrexham boss has found out, such complaints disappear quickly when there is success.

It does, however, make managers like Parkinson more susceptible to criticism when things are not going well, and that is the case currently. Fans are starting to wonder whether Parkinson has taken Wrexham as far as he can, and while his past achievements will buy Parkinson more time than most, even he knows Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will have a decision to make if things continue on the current path.

He said after Wrexham's latest defeat, against Sheffield United: "It's probably as big an achievement last year as getting promotion in the other years, coming seventh in the Championship. Of course, we all know that the second season in the division, there's all that about the momentum was with us and there's a possibility that's a factor.

"But we are in a similar position to last year. Now my job and the rest of the staff's job is to understand as a group that we have to turn up every week and if we don't win, the performance is at a level where the manager and the opposition say, 'you were difficult to play against tonight'. I don't think Chris (Wilder, the Sheffield United manager) is saying that in the first half."

Who should Wrexham turn to next if Parkinson is sacked?

If Wrexham sack Parkinson, the question becomes who next? There are a couple of names linked with the job, and Scott Parker is now off the table due to him heading to West Ham to replace Nuno Espirito Santo. Charlton Athletic boss Nathan Jones is linked but simply doesn't offer the step forward Wrexham require, while Rob Edwards hasn't proven himself as someone who could offer a step forward from Parkinson.

One potentially solid option is former Swansea City and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper. Fans would have to forget the Swansea connection, but Cooper has a Championship promotion on his record, and he employs the sort of football that works in the second tier.

Why? Because he is flexible. Cooper's background coming up through the academies was heavily possession-based, but in senior football, he has typically adapted his system to win games. He has played all sorts of formations and without a requirement to dominate the ball. In short, he has his teams do what it takes to get results, which is vital in the Championship.

He said himself in 2023:

"Coaching is about doing things in a way that you believe in but it is also about living in the moment and adapting. In the modern game, teams play a couple of formations in one game, they can be effective playing in different ways. Football has never been so fluid."

Too many managers fail in the second tier because they have an ideal about football and how it should be played, but more often than not, it is not applicable during a long, hard Championship season where games pile up and pitches start to degrade up and down the league.

Cooper has that pragmatism to the way he manages, which is vital.

Combine that with the promotion and Premier League experience on his CV, and Wrexham have a strong candidate should they decide to call it a day with Parkinson.