Phil Parkinson sends promotion warning to Championship rivals as Wrexham close in on play-off spot

The Wrexham manager underlined his side's determination to take their Championship play-off push "to the wire" after a convincing 2-0 victory over Stoke City got their season back on track. Following consecutive defeats to Southampton and Birmingham City, the Red Dragons produced a resilient performance at the SToK Cae Ras to reignite their promotion hopes.

The win, combined with results elsewhere, has cut the gap to sixth-placed Hull City to just two points. With the regular season reaching its climax, the Hollywood-owned side are now firmly in the mix for a top-six finish, setting up a dramatic final run of fixtures. Wrexham head to relegation-threatened Oxford on Tuesday with renewed confidence, before finishing the campaign at promoted Coventry and at home to playoff-chasing Middlesbrough in their bid for an unprecedented rise through the divisions.

Addressing the media after the game, Parkinson made it clear that Wrexham have no intention of letting their hard work go to waste. "The aim has been to take this to the wire and that's what we spoke to the lads about," the manager said. "Let's not hand the play-off place to the other teams. But how are we going to achieve that and taking the accountability and where we get our performance levels where they need to be to win games of football at this level?"

The goals came in a frantic first-half period. George Thomason was initially credited with the opener, though Parkinson later confirmed Josh Windass got the final touch from a corner. Windass then doubled the lead just 69 seconds later, capitalising on an error from Aaron Cresswell to secure his 14th league goal of the campaign and put the result beyond doubt.

Wrexham received a further boost after the final whistle when news filtered through that Birmingham City's Tomoki Iwata had scored a late equaliser against Hull. This result prevented Wrexham's primary rivals from pulling further away in the table, leaving the play-off race wide open heading into the final three matches.

Parkinson admitted he was unaware of the scoreline at the MKM Stadium until after his own match had concluded. "I honestly didn't know what the score was until I was coming off down the tunnel and someone said the game was still going but it was 1-1. So, of course, that is a bonus and we're not going to deny that. Birmingham, they're a good side as we saw last week, they're probably disappointed they're not in the mix. But they've done us a favour and now we go to Oxford and let's just see if we can keep this going right to the end."

While Wrexham celebrate a return to form, Stoke manager Mark Robins was left to reflect on a miserable run that has seen the Potters slide to 17th in the table. After a sixth successive away defeat, Robins did not hold back in his assessment of the performance, pointing to individual errors as the catalyst for their downfall.

Robins said: "There wasn't a great deal in it until two ridiculous moments. There are a lot of things that need sorting out. If people want to take the easy option they're not going to be for me. But it can be sorted out, it will be sorted out -- and I'm looking forward to that. We need to make sure what we do in the summer stands us in good stead for a long time. This is a serious moment and I'm really going to get my teeth into it, because it can't carry on like this."