There’s a lot of hard work to be done this summer

Phil Parkinson insists plenty of hard work will come this summer as Wrexham prepare for life in League One after ending the campaign with a 2-1 win over champions Stockport.

Connor Lemonheigh-Evans put the Hatters in front and after Ollie Palmer equalised, Andy Cannon grabbed a brilliant late winner to secure second place for the Dragons.

Parkinson was pleased to end the campaign on a high, but now the focus turns to improving his squad for next season and the higher division they will compete in following back-to-back promotions.

He said: “We need to improve the squad. As you go up the divisions everything improves – athleticism and quality, preparation, and we need to improve, which we will do.

“There’s a lot of hard work to be done over the summer but we’ll sit down and take our time and make the right decisions to give us a chance to be competitive next season.

“I’m pleased with five wins to finish the season. I think it’s great from the lads. We’ve had some tough games, but it was important we finished the season well.

“We wanted to finish the season off in style against a very good side and we were able to do that with an excellent second-half display.

“The job was done with promotion. Credit to them (Stockport) being champions, we’ve got the back-to-back promotions which is great for everybody connected to the club and we look forward to meeting them again in League One next year.”

Stockport boss Dave Challinor expressed slight disappointment at ending the campaign with a defeat but, like Parkinson, he is now firmly focused on next season and who will be part of his future squad.

He said: “We came here having achieved what our objective was at the start of the season and could enjoy today. Did I enjoy not winning? No, absolutely not.

“I’ve taken a lot from the game, which was important, but this weekend was about celebrating again and celebrating what this group has achieved over the course of the season as a collective.

“The tough part of the job from my perspective is the conversations you have to have with players moving forward because we need to evolve and we need to be better because we’re going into a higher division with expectations to be successful and progress.

“We wanted to come here and win. We didn’t do that, so there’s a tinge of disappointment. Both teams get the opportunity to celebrate, both teams are worthy of being League One clubs and we will renew our acquaintances next year at some point.”