Parkinson addresses squad roles before January

Phil Parkinson says Jay Rodriguez and Andy Cannon will return to the Wrexham squad on 1 January.

The duo have not played a single minute of action for the Red Dragons this season due to injury and were left out of the 25-man squad the club submitted to the English Football League following the closure of the summer transfer window.

"Football changes quickly. We've got Rodriguez, Andy Cannon, [Ollie] Rathbone are all chomping at the bit," said Parkinson.

"Rodriguez and Cannon will come back into the squad on 1 January, we've got Brunty [Lewis Brunt] closing in on a return, Elliot Lee.

"There's players in football, people think they've not got a chance to get a place in the team, like George Thomason for instance who had a bad start to the season through injury, he wasn't on the bench, and next game he starts, makes a statement with his performance and now he's right in the middle of our thinking."

A number of players including summer signings Ryan Hardie and Conor Coady have struggled to get regular game time this season.

Before Wrexham's final six Championship matches of the year, Parkinson addressed his squad with the aim of ensuring all players remain focused on achieving the same goal.

"Inevitably, everybody wants to play, it goes without saying," explained the Wrexham manager. "I spoke to the lads about it today as we go into this next run of games.

"Our strength throughout my time at Wrexham is controlling that disappointment when you're not in the team, making sure that if you're on the bench, you're ready to impact the game.

"If you're not on the bench, it's making sure your training standards are maintained.

"I think that strength, spirit and togetherness is important because every club has got players out of the team.

"Those ones out of the team can sometimes be as important as those in the team.

"We've spoken about that a lot during my time as this club and I've felt that is a key element to our success over the last few years and there's an understanding that we need to maintain that."