Forget what jazz musician Bob Dorough said about three being the magic number. Or, for that matter, the umpteen artists, ranging from De La Soul through to Embrace, to subsequently cover his 1973 hit.
Right now, five is the number focusing minds in Wrexham after Tuesday’s 4-1 win over Crawley Town left a second promotion in as many seasons tantalisingly close. Five points from the final three games, starting with the weekend visit of bottom club Forest Green Rovers, will be enough to book that return to League One.
Anything less and the door will be potentially left open to others, primarily MK Dons and Mansfield Town, who meet on Saturday.
Should that meeting between the teams sitting fourth and third respectively finish either level or go the way of Nigel Clough’s visitors, and Barrow fail to win at Gillingham, a Wrexham victory would then be enough to get over the line.
Such a prospect means it could be party time at the SToK Cae Ras at 5pm on Saturday. Not that anyone in the home dressing room is allowing themselves to think like that.
Phil Parkinson and Wrexham are not getting ahead of themselves (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
“The players know what needs to be done,” assistant manager Steve Parkin says. “We have strong belief but we have to take it one game at a time, nothing else. Of course, you look at other results at the end of the game. But the main thing is focusing on yourself.
“It is difficult to ban the mention of promotion. It is difficult for the fans not to mention it, which we understand. But, in and around the dressing room, the lads know how hard it was last year to get promoted.
“We saw what can happen, once you take your eye off the ball for even one minute. Cast your mind back to Halifax (Wrexham lost 2-1 on Good Friday) and how we ended up with all the pressure on to beat Notts County a few days later.
“We just have to focus on doing what we need to do. If anything falls our way after that then it is a Brucie Bonus. But the key is concentrating on what we do.”
Such caution is wise, even with Wrexham looking so handily placed. This has been a hugely competitive League Two, with unexpected results cropping up almost weekly. This trait began on the opening day, when much-fancied duo Wrexham and Notts County both conceded five goals in losing and has pretty much continued since.
Nevertheless, there’s no denying the excitement building in north Wales. “Town are going up, ole ole…” sang the home fans, over and over again, during the second half. It was difficult to argue.
Like a thoroughbred horse, Wrexham are timing their run to the line to perfection. Four wins in their last five outings shows that, as does how they set about a Crawley side who arrived in a buoyant mood. Crawley had won seven of nine away games since the turn of the year.
Just four days earlier, Mansfield Town had been thrashed 4-1 at home by Scott Lindsey’s seventh-placed side. If they hoped this might intimidate their hosts, they were to be disappointed.
Phil Parkinson had spent the build-up preaching to his side the need not to get sucked in by Crawley, whose slick passing game means they are able to tire out an opponent trying to press high up the field.
Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer, reunited together up front, made sure the visiting defence was not allowed to rest on the ball. But, crucially, the pair also held their shape, as did Andy Cannon and Elliot Lee on either side of a midfield trio who just had too much energy and quality for their counterparts from West Sussex.
Andy Cannon had a man-of-the-match performance (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
The discipline shown by Wrexham across 90 minutes was commendable. So was the killer instinct that saw Mullin take his goal tally for the season to 23 with a double, while Cannon’s man-of-the-match display was rewarded with a deserved goal and Ryan Barnett netted for the first time since joining 14 months ago.
With Stockport County, Mansfield and Crewe Alexandra also winning, Tuesday was a bad night for MK Dons. With games now running out, the maximum points tally they can reach is 83. Wrexham and Mansfield, meanwhile, can get to 88, and Stockport 95.
Maximum Points Tallies
| Maximum Points | Games to Play | |
|---|---|---|
|
Stockport County |
95 |
4 |
|
Mansfield Town |
88 |
4 |
|
Wrexham |
88 |
3 |
|
Milton Keynes Dons |
83 |
3 |
|
Barrow |
82 |
5 |
|
Crewe Alexandra |
79 |
3 |
|
Crawley Town |
77 |
4 |
With Stockport due at the Racecourse on the final weekend, and Mansfield facing both MK Dons and Barrow during their run-in, there’s every chance that the total required to guarantee a top-three place may well turn out to be similar to recent years.
Over the past decade, the average points tally required to finish in the final automatic promotion spot has been 81, which includes the points-per-game tallies for the pandemic-curtailed 2019-20 season being extrapolated to 46 matches.
Within that, there have been some wild variations. A total of 85 was required in both 2014-15 and 2015-16 but just 77 in 2013-14.
As jubilant as the atmosphere was inside the Racecourse at the final whistle, supporters who understand the club’s history are unlikely to be getting carried away just yet.
A little under half a century ago, Wrexham went into the final two home games of 1976-77 so close to clinching promotion from the old Third Division. Having not lost at home all season, Wrexham dropped out of the top three courtesy of defeats to Crystal Palace (2-4) and Mansfield (0-1). Both joined Brighton & Hove Albion in the second tier, leaving emotional scars that remain to this day in north Wales.
This is why five remains the magic number, even allowing for how Saturday may yet bring the club’s first back-to-back promotions in their history.
(Top photo: Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images)
