WREXHAM AFC: Hislop's praise for 'great guy' Parkinson

Leader Live

16-06-2025

There's been success after success for Parkinson at the helm at the Racecourse, with him leading the club to back-to-back-to-back promotions from the National League all the way to the Championship.
Hislop, the former Reading, Newcastle and Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper, says a fourth consecutive promotion is a possibility.
Asked if the Reds can go up again, Hislop told ESPN FC: 'Yes, they can. I'm forever hopeful.
'I know Phil Parkinson well. Parky and I signed for Reading at the same time.
'Great guy, great guy. I don't think I've played with anybody who's more different on the field than off it.
'That's Parky, nicest man you've ever seen off the field. On the field, he just turns into some(one) totally different.'
Looking at any potential business the Reds will make over the summer, Hislop said: 'If he has any say (in recruitment), it's not going to be any kind of big-headed superstar, because... there's nothing about Parky that says that and I'm not sure that Parky would go for anybody who, kind of, in any way emulates that.'
Added problems will be coming the club's way with another step-up and Hislop says this is something that Wrexham will relish.
'They've been having to build this squad for some time,' he said.
'You just wonder how much more they need to do to be able to compete. But these are problems that players, managers, the ownership group want to have, want to try to figure out.
'We know all eyes will be on them, not just because of who they are and what they've done, but also, I think a lot of people have bought into this story.
'Bought into how they've progressed through leagues and want to see where they go, and maybe they are able to put together the kind of financing that will see them compete with the big spenders.
'They've shown that they can compete physically with those from lower down. So, it's an interesting prospect for them at this point.'
Ben Foster has also been bragging up his former boss Parkinson claiming the best changing room he has been inside is Wrexham.
Former England keeper Foster had two spells at the Racecourse to bookend his career, helping the Reds to win the LDV Vans Trophy at the Millennium Stadium during a loan spell back in 2005 and he returned in 2023 as Wrexham clinched the National League title in record-breaking fashion.
Foster told Fozcast: 'The way the manager is... allowed total autonomy, total freedom to identify and sign a player. You don't get jobs like that anymore.
'Managers don't get jobs like that where you are the manager, you get to manage everything about the football club.
'Every player that comes in, he has identified them. He knows that person. He knows what their character is.
'He knows they're good at football, obviously, first and foremost, like he's done with everybody he's brought in.
'The best changing room I've ever been in, because everybody is just so down to earth and so respectful, and... I feel like that's the football club in general.'