Virgil van Dijk's blunt assessment of Liverpool's recent woes has been used as inspiration by Championship side Wrexham
Virgil van Dijk speaking
Virgil van Dijk's candid comments on Liverpool's woes have been used as inspiration by Wrexham
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Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has revealed he's taking inspiration from Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk to ensure his team don't get ahead of themselves in their Championship promotion push. The Welsh outfit, backed by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, moved up to tenth in the second tier on Wednesday evening following their 2-0 win over Bristol City at the Racecourse Ground.
The Red Dragons now sit only two points adrift of the play-off positions after an impressive sequence of seven league matches without defeat and four consecutive clean sheets. Wrexham broke the deadlock in the 16th minute through a stunning curled effort from club-record signing Nathan Broadhead, who played for Everton in his youth days.
The visitors created opportunities to level the contest, but the home side secured a crucial second with 16 minutes remaining when George Thomason's corner struck the woodwork before ricocheting into the net off Robins goalkeeper Radek Vitek. Wrexham's impressive recent displays have prompted chatter in certain circles about whether a remarkable fourth consecutive promotion might be achievable.
However, Parkinson has opened up on how he used a quote from Van Dijk to address his squad before the fixture, cautioning his players against letting their guard down.
The ex-Bolton and Sunderland boss said: "Four clean sheets on the bounce is good but we've got to earn that. I put a quote up from Virgil van Dijk after the Liverpool defeat against Forest. He spoke about how they've got to get back to the work, the first and second contacts, blocking things and all the basics.
"I spoke to the lads because that's Liverpool's captain who's talking about the champions of this country and we've got to make sure we keep that core of our game in place because that's what's got us on this run. Defenders have been good but we've got another huge test at the weekend."
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson at Ipswich Town's Portman Road
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson used Van Dijk's words as inspiration
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Van Dijk has been amongst Liverpool's most outspoken figures during the club's current struggles. The Reds endured their ninth loss from their past 12 fixtures as they were soundly defeated by PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday evening, heaping additional pressure on Arne Slot.
Speaking on Saturday, the Netherlands international offered a candid evaluation of Liverpool's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.
Van Dijk said: "At the moment it is a mess - that is just a fact. We are losing battles and everyone is responsible for it and I hope everyone sees that. You should be angry. When someone is pressing, you have to follow the press.
"It's basic things but it's not happening enough. You have to be mentally strong and keep going. But we didn't do that. Forest were physically winning so many battles against us."
Van Dijk's candidness after the Forest match did not go unnoticed by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, who told Sky Sports: "I think Virgil van Dijk, after the game, has come out again and spoke as he should do as the captain and called Liverpool a mess.
"I must say on the back of all these Liverpool defeats it's always Van Dijk who comes out. The captain should do that but there should be other players in that dressing room coming out and speaking for the club."
Meanwhile, Parkinson's approach of mastering the basics has benefited Wrexham in recent weeks, after a challenging beginning to their Championship season. The manager is determined for his players to remain grounded considering the competitive standard of the division and with just under two thirds of the campaign remaining.
However, Wrexham are in a strong position to challenge for at least a play-off place as it stands after splashing out around £33million on new players during the summer. The club's chief executive, Michael Williamson, has also confirmed funds will be made available to Parkinson in the January transfer window to further bolster his squad.