Wrexham relax into tension of Championship play-off race

In the three years to the day from the first promotion out of non-league, Parkinson has rarely allowed himself to publicly predict what could happen in a promotion race or let himself be accused of getting carried away.

He was not about to start at Oxford, chuckling to the question of what will be needed to get over the line as he responded “more points than the teams around us”, and not prepared to guess whether Coventry’s title-sealing win over Portsmouth on Tuesday night was good news ahead of Sunday.

But he did accept the significance of Wrexham’s return to form at just the right time, saying: “We’re in a far better position than when I woke up Saturday morning.

“Did we believe (Hull) would drop points going to Leicester? We knew Leicester needed to win so we felt they would have a right go, but it was all about what we did and we performed really well.

“We spoke to the lads prior to the Stoke game about pushing all the way; we got a brilliant win and we have backed it up with a really hard-fought victory.

“To hit 70 points in our first season in the Championship is a good achievement – but it’s not the achievement we want to be remembered for.

“It’s a good benchmark for us, now can we add to that in the final two games?”

Co-chairman Rob Mac believes so, stating on social media, “Can’t stop the Reds.”

Rivals will try to have their say and keep the tension in the final two games.

The challenge for Wrexham will be to keep calm and carry on.