Wrexham celebrate beating Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round (Image: PA)
Wrexham celebrate beating Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round (Image: PA)
PHIL PARKINSON has enjoyed some memorable moments in the FA Cup during his time at Wrexham and he's going to savour facing Chelsea this weekend.
Since he took charge at The Racecourse in July 2021, Parkinson has led the Reds to a record-breaking three successive promotions and his side are currently challenging for a Championship play-off spot.
There has been a lot to celebrate in the famous cup competition as well with Wrexham twice reaching the fourth round in the last four years before going one better this season, and the Reds will battle it out with Premier League giants Chelsea for a place in the quarter-finals at the iconic north Wales stadium on Saturday.
Among the high profile results in the cup so far under Parkinson was the 4-3 win at Championship high-fliers Coventry City when Wrexham were challenging for the National League title in 2022-23, with the Reds narrowly losing to Premier League-bound Sheffield United in the next round following a replay after leading in the first game which ended 3-3.
The club has a proud tradition in the cup with no shortage of famous upsets and Parkinson is pleased he's made his own mark.
"Since I came here, there's been a lot of talk about the FA Cup," he said.
"We've had some great days and I remember the Coventry win in particular.
"For me, the atmosphere that day was very special; to have four-and-a-half thousand fans behind the goal at Coventry, that was right up there in terms of atmospheres.
"And obviously the Sheffield United games, the drama in those two games was unbelievable.
"I remember the first game which was live on BBC, I got a lot of messages after the game from the producers saying what a classic cup tie it was."
Parkinson finally got his wish this season when Wrexham were drawn against a Premier League side in the shape of Nottingham Forest.
The third round tie ended in a 3-3 draw, with the Reds leading 2-0 and 3-1 before beating the top-fight strugglers 4-3 on penalties.
Wrexham then overcame second-tier rivals Ipswich Town 1-0 to set up a fifth round clash with Chelsea and Parkinson is looking forward to coming up against a star-studded Blues side.
"We'd waited patiently for a Premier League team and this year we got Forest which was another incredible game," he said.
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"We were then hoping for another Premier League team but we got Ipswich.
"We did the job against them and got our reward with an exciting tie for the club.
"I think for the profile of Wrexham, it's a great game for myself and the players to be on the pitch with the calibre of players that Chelsea have got, and another moment for the Wrexham supporters to savour.
"It's now a test against that next level of players. Is the way they play uniquely different to teams in our division? No.
"It''s just obviously higher-quality players, and it's the detail of how we go about the job has got to be that much better to give us a chance to be in the game."