It has been a dramatic fortnight at Wrexham, but now it seems the club is experiencing the calm after the storm.

The Red Dragons were first fined £75,000 ($100,000) for fielding two ineligible players, an embarrassing mistake in which they were fortunate to avoid a points deduction. Two days later, Phil Parkinson fumed at his players following defeat to Sheffield United, claiming they lacked the fight and desire of his National League side.

It almost felt like the endgame for Parkinson after such a brutal assessment of his squad. Instead, it was the end for chief executive Michael Williamson, who lost his role last week following a damning exit statement from Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds. The co-owners reiterated that serving the “community” was their most important task, suggesting Williamson was not entirely aligned with that thinking.

Yet despite all the turmoil, Wrexham finally appear to have steadied the ship. They produced one of the best performances of the Parkinson era to dominate Middlesbrough last midweek before following it up three days later with a valuable point at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

All of this came in the wake of another injury blow to Sam Smith, as Wrexham’s injury crisis continued. Overcoming such adversity is part of the Wrexham way and helps explain why so many people have resonated with the club’s journey from a struggling National League side to one with serious Premier League ambitions.

Hardships Brought Wrexham Closer Together

In the days after the damning defeat to Sheffield United, Parkinson invited his staff and players in for some brutally honest conversations. The Wrexham players were made to watch the entire first half of the match before taking part in a no-holds-barred discussion about accountability, effort and why they have struggled for consistency this season.

Rather than splitting the group further apart, the conversations appear to have brought them closer. Wrexham seem to have learned some valuable lessons from that failure, developing a renewed sense of unity and a belief that they are in the fight together, ready to give everything for the loyal working-class community they represent.

“We had a couple of hard conversations with each other and between ourselves, with coaches, players, staff, everyone,” Lewis O’Brien told Sports Illustrated at the weekend. “It was a tough couple of days at the start of the week, but we’ve come out of that, looked at ourselves and come out better. We’re just trying to do the best for each other and the best for the club, and put this club where we all want it to be.

“Let’s be honest, the fans, the players, everyone wants it to be in the Premier League, and sometimes you do have to take a couple of bad results and very bad performances from all of us to look at it and be like, right, we need to get back to basics, back to the reasons why the gaffer signed us and prove that the fans can cheer us.

“When they’re singing and giving us their support, like the 12th man in that crowd, it’s unbelievable. It feels great to have that support, and it’s obviously been a bit quiet, but that’s probably our fault as well as theirs. You need that reaction on the pitch to get them going, and I think the last two games have been fantastic.”

Parkinson ‘Pleased’ With the Team’s Response

Mac and Reynolds remain fully supportive of manager Parkinson and believe he deserves as much time as possible to attempt to take the club to the Premier League. For all his experience, the 58-year-old has never managed in the top flight, something that is often used against him when results aren’t going well. Mind you, he had never managed in the National League either, but went on to set a record points total as Wrexham began their ascent through the English soccer pyramid.

It is understood that some senior players remain skeptical of Parkinson’s tactical approach, although those feelings might stem from frustration after a slow start to the season. Improvement is still needed after their second-half performance against Wolves at the weekend, but the way they played against Middlesbrough suggests they have the tactical flexibility to trouble the very best teams in the division.

“You can have the meetings after the game against Sheffield and you can work on the training ground, but then it is up to the players when they cross the white line to put that into practice and show how much they care about the club,” Parkinson told Sports Illustrated.

“Caring about the club is running and tackling, but it is also concentrating on doing the role you have been asked to do with and without the ball, and I felt everybody really tried to do that. You’re never going to get it perfect, but in terms of the honesty of the team, that was 10 out of 10.

“After the defeat at Sheffield, to go toe to toe with Middlesbrough and Wolves and to come out with four points, we have to be pleased with that. It was always going to be tough to completely match the levels, but at times we were not far away from it.

“I was pleased with the lads; it was another cracking atmosphere inside here, and we will take the point moving into the international break.”