'It's an unforgiving league' - Phil Parkinson sends out promotion warning to Wrexham players after Stevenage defeat as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side suffer setback

A Louis Thompson goal in the 10th minute condemned the Red Dragons to their second League One defeat of the season. After the match, manager Parkinson challenged his players to bounce back from this when they face Northampton Town this weekend, but sent a warning of sorts to his players as well.

When asked what message he would send to his players ahead of their next game, he said: "Take our medicine. We've got to get back and assess team selection, what we are going to do, we'll have a look at Northampton and get ready to respond and that is what we will do. It's an unforgiving league but every league is competitive. This is more unforgiving because the quality level is higher but we've got better quality and strength in depth and we are capable of coping with it. We're in a strong position but we need to improve in periods of games where you are under a bit of pressure. And I felt we didn't have enough players who responded to that today [Tuesday]."

Wrexham are going for an historic third-straight promotion, something no other team has done within the top five levels on the English football pyramid. They still sit second in League One and are in the automatic promotion spots but they will need to improve if they are going to make it to the Championship. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that Stevenage have the fourth-best home record in League One.

Wrexham, who have won all four of their home games this season, return to Stok Cae Ras on Saturday afternoon when they host lowly Northampton Town. Incidentally, if they can improve their away form, which is the 14th-best in the division, they will be right up near the top of the table this season.