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Phil Parkinson has urged his Wrexham side not to hand a Championship play-off spot to his side's top-six rivals over the remainder of the run-in.
The Red Dragons have dropped to seventh in the table – four points adrift of sixth-placed Hull City with four regular season matches remaining – having collected just four of the past 15 points on offer.
Ahead of his side's return to action against Stoke City at Stok Cae Ras on Saturday (15:00 BST), Parkinson told his players to attack the remainder of the run-in.
"The weekend is about us and I said to the lads this morning that the one thing we've got to make sure that doesn't happen is that we hand a play-off berth to somebody else without them earning it," said the manager.
"That's our aim from now to the end of season, to give everything we can to get in the top six, but if we don't, the teams who have got there, we've got to push them all the way."
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Timely period to reflect
Following a run of just one league win in five matches, Wrexham's destiny has swiftly fallen out of their own control.
Just two days after his side's 2-0 loss to Birmingham City at St Andrew's, manager Parkinson was awarded the freedom of Wrexham County Borough for his contributions to the club and the wider community.
It gave the 58-year-old – who has overseen three successive promotions since becoming Wrexham boss in 2021 – a rare opportunity to take a step back from the cut and thrust of the Championship.
"It certainly gave myself a chance to reflect because you don't get a chance to do that really, certainly during the season, so it was a great honour for myself and my family," he said.
Wrexham found themselves in a similar position in the latter stages of the 2024-25 campaign, as they dropped out of the League One automatic promotion places following successive draws against Wigan Athletic and Bristol Rovers.
They went on to finish second after winning their final three games of the campaign, and Parkinson says having the chance to take stock of the club's current situation could prove hugely beneficial this season too.
"I remember the Bristol Rovers game where we were really flat for whatever reason," he said. "It was a hard performance to put into context really.
"I went away myself and had a day on my own thinking 'it's my job, and Steve [assistant coach, Parkin], and Dave Jones [first team coach] and Aidan [goalkeeping coach, Davison] as a staff to get the team functioning how we want it at the weekend.
"I want to see this place absolutely bouncing on Saturday and that will be from the manner of the way we play and the energy."
Gentle reminders needed
Defeats by Southampton and Birmingham City ensured Wrexham lost successive league games for the first time since the opening two fixtures of the Championship season.
But despite that, Wrexham remain in the play-off picture at such a pivotal stage of the campaign, in addition to being above numerous established clubs in the table.
Midfielder Oliver Rathbone believes that fact alone should serve as a reminder to those on the outside of the club, of Wrexham's astonishing rise.
"We've lost back-to-back games, so it's just about reminding ourselves that we're a very good team and we've got four big games to go," he said.
"I think every fan would have taken being four points off the play-offs with four games to go.
"It's the first time the club's been in the second division for a long, long time, coming up against clubs that have been Premier League teams and are ahead of us in a lot of ways.
"So I think it's important that we just remind ourselves of that, but still go into the last four games and give it everything."
Despite the recent blip, Parkinson too has remained determined to stay grounded as Wrexham's focus remains on working their way back into the top six in the final stages of the campaign.
Regardless of the outcome of their run-in, Parkinson noted with delight the culture at the club throughout the course of its rapid rise up the football pyramid.
"We've done well up through the divisions and it's been a meteoric rise for us," added Parkinson.
"But I'd like to think that, despite the outside exposure the club gets, that we've retained our humbleness and tried to keep a culture running through the football club.
"The togetherness of the area, the team, the supporters and the staff has taken us a long way and our aim now is to give our supporters a good finish to the season."
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Wrexham's remaining fixtures
Wrexham v Stoke City – Saturday, 18 April (15:00 BST)
Oxford United v Wrexham – Tuesday, 21 April (19:45 BST)
Coventry City v Wrexham – Sunday, 26 April (12:00 BST)
Wrexham v Middlesbrough – Saturday, 2 May (12:30 BST)
