Unlucky seven? Wrexham aim to buck bizarre trend

Phil Parkinson hopes his Wrexham side can buck the trend of Championship teams struggling in seasons after finishing in seventh in the second tier. Wrexham have won just three of their 12 Championship matches so far this season Phil Parkinson is hoping Wrexham can buck the unusual trend of Championship sides struggling in seasons after they have narrowly missed out on the play-offs. Over the previous 15 second-tier campaigns, only one side have achieved a top-half finish – when Middlesbrough came fourth in 2022-23 – in the year after finishing seventh in the Championship. Wrexham ended up seventh last season – the club's highest ever league finish – as they lost out on a top-six place following a 2-2 draw with Boro on the final day.

The Red Dragons currently sit 17th having claimed just 14 of the 36 points on offer so far this season. "I think that there's obviously a stat of teams who've been in the play-offs can find it tough, but you look at Derby, they just missed out as well, how they've struggled," said Parkinson. "Whether that [mental toughness] is a factor or not… Of course, as much as there was a pride that in our first season in the Championship we'd got to seventh, the highest position the club had ever finished, on the