Wrexham players sent stern warning by Phil Parkinson as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side look ahead to crunch Birmingham City clash

After Wrexham's 2-1 loss to lowly Shrewsbury on Thursday, manager Parkinson wants a response from his players over the next week in training. He said the Red Dragons need to "regroup" after not being good enough in their cross-border defeat but they can right those wrongs when Birmingham visit Stok Cae Ras in a huge contest at the top end of League One.

He said, via The Leader: "It’s not often that we haven't performed to the level I expect, but that is one of those nights. I am reflecting on the performance and not enough players played well. You've got to have seven or eight players at the top of their game to win in a derby game and we didn't have enough who performed how we know they can. We have got to take criticism together firmly on the chin because it is deserved and come out responding with a week’s training ready for the Birmingham game. It hurts a lot but we have just got to regroup. When we win, we all take the plaudits together and when we lose, we're going to have to take the disappointment together and we will do, and we'll come out ready to respond next week."

Table-toppers Birmingham and second-placed Wycombe Wanderers both won on Saturday to go five and three points clear of Wrexham respectively. With City having two games in hand, this may be a must-win match for Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' League One promotion-chasers.

Wrexham host Birmingham next Thursday before rounding off January at home to mid-table Stevenage Town.