Wrexham’s victory against Sheffield United ranks among Phil Parkinson’s top achievements, according to the assistant manager.

Wrexham’s assistant manager Steve Parkin described their 2-1 comeback victory against Sheffield United as one of the most significant outcomes during Phil Parkinson’s tenure, as they maintained their pursuit of a Championship playoff spot.

The Red Dragons arrived at Bramall Lane looking to recover from a 3-1 defeat to Watford on Tuesday, which marked their second loss in three matches and caused them to fall out of the top six. They initially struggled against a Sheffield United team that took the lead with Andre Brooks’ goal in the 49th minute.

However, Sam Smith assisted former Sheffield Wednesday forward Josh Windass to equalize against his former club before scoring a winner in the 78th minute, igniting jubilant celebrations among the Wrexham players and staff at the final whistle as they remained level on points with sixth-placed Southampton.

“In the five years we’ve been here now, that’s in our top 10 of the games we probably needed to win, and we needed to keep our run going,” Parkin stated.

“A few people wrote us off after the Watford game; we’ve got a few injuries and some players who would typically be in the squad unavailable at the moment, and that was a significant effort from the lads psychologically to turn things around against a strong side after the disappointment of Tuesday night.

“That’s really right up there as one of our best wins.”

Following an unprecedented streak of three consecutive promotions, Wrexham’s aspirations for a fourth remain very much alive. After the international break, they will face West Brom away before Southampton visits the Racecourse Ground.

“We just want to be part of the party at the end of the year,” Parkin continued. “We aim to be one of the teams competing for a playoff spot. We want to be in contention.

“We have exciting matches ahead. We will be playing against top teams, which is crucial.

“Why wouldn’t we want to be in a division that’s remarkable in terms of attendance and the quality of matches, and why wouldn’t we want to be part of the competition? That’s why this game was so important.”

Sheffield United are now winless in four matches and 13 points adrift of the top six, with their chances of an improbable playoff run effectively over after failing to take advantage of early opportunities from Patrick Bamford and Harrison Burrows before relinquishing the lead they had established.

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Chris Wilder remarked: “Wrexham found a way to win; they demonstrated that quality, and we found a way to lose.

“In the first 10-15 minutes, they created some chances, but after that, we had the majority of possession and opportunities. However, we need to convert and capitalize on our good play.

“There’s always going to be a reaction after [we] take the lead, but we really should have been out of sight because we had control for half an hour and during the first five or ten minutes of the second half.”