Hull City remain in fifth place in the Championship after Wrexham were unable to overtake them after a loss at Watford
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson watches his side beaten by Hull City(Image: Cody Froggatt/PA Wire)
The Championship play-off race took a fresh turn on Tuesday night as Wrexham were beaten 3-1 at Watford.
Defeat saw the Red Dragons miss out on the opportunity to leapfrog Hull City in fifth-placed – and meant that having lost their game in hand they are very much in the sights of the chasing pack.
Both Derby and Southampton are only three points behind, with the Saints playing their 38th game against Norwich City this evening. Victory would put Tonda Eckert’s side into the top six and make Phil Parkinson’s a chaser rather than chased.
Former Wrexham captain Ben Tozer feels they must look forward and not back as they remain in pursuit of a Championship play-off place. “They’ve just got to look ahead and make sure they’re looking up rather than behind them,” ex-defender Tozer told BBC Radio Wales.
“The second you start looking over your shoulder and start worrying about what’s behind you, you start to take your eye off what’s really possible and what the potential is.”
The Tigers, who have lost three of their last four and will be without key players against Sheffield Wednesday this season, will be watching with interest and listening to what their rivals are saying.
Wrexham 6th, 60 points
Speaking at Vicarage Road, Parkinson said; “We’ll just digest this game and have a couple of days to recover, and then of course, Saturday is a great game for us to go into and respond.
“We will pick ourselves back up, we have got another terrific game to go into at the weekend [vs Sheffield United away]. The lads are obviously a little bit quiet in the dressing room because we have done so well on our travels recently.
“But that second half perfmance gave me a lot of heart because the determination and desire to get back in the game was excellent and we really should have got at least a draw.”
Southampton 7th, 57 points
Eckert was happy with his side’s win at Coventry at the weekend – and wants to see a similar level of performance against Norwich tonight.
“Yeah. I was not one of the ones who worried about Coventry because, in the end, you need to live that confidence every single day. You need to have the conviction that you go into every game and win. If you play Fulham, if you play Coventry, if you play Norwich, if you play Arsenal.
“The preparation is the same. If you don’t find that conviction in yourself that you’re going to win, you’re probably not going to. That has been consistent.
“Some good teams that we are facing now have been the same over the last games. We are up for the challenge and we’ll be going strong tomorrow [Wednesday].”
Derby 8th, 57 points
Sammie Szmodics spoke to the club media after Monday night’s 1-0 win at Portsmouth: “It wasn’t our best performance. These are the games if you want to get promoted you have got to come and win, win dirty, win ugly and we have done that and it’s a massive three points.”
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Watford 9th, 55 points
Boss Ed Still was thrilled to beat Wrexham. “I’m delighted with the performance and the result,” he said.
“To have only picked up a point from the last two games was not fair based on what we did and how many chances we created.
“To have such a quick turnaround from the Stoke game on Saturday and to see how the team and the players took onboard those lessons and put that performance in this evening, that was the really big positive.
“To be able to put it to bed in the fashion that we did with Doumbia and Bove at the end makes the feeling a little bit stronger.”
Birmingham 10th, 53 points
Blues laboured to beat Sheffield United last Saturday, hitting the woodwork four times but having to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Speaking after the game, Patrick Roberts – who helped Sunderland to promotion last season – remained upbeat. “We’ve got a few big games coming up so we need to really capitalise on that and put a good run together.”
“Of course [we can]. I’ve been in this league so long. I’ve been down the bottom, I’ve been down the middle, I’ve been up in the play-offs and you just never know.
“So there’s a lot of football still to be played, you pick up a lot of wins then you just never know at the end of the season.
“The belief’s still there, the manager has belief in us, us as players have belief. It’s just about getting on the pitch and doing it. We are good players, we are a good team, we know that.
Predicted table
Opta thinks the Tigers will finish in the top six.