SO far, so good. That’s Phil Parkinson’s first half appraisal of the season but the Wrexham manager is striving for an even better second half in the quest for promotion.

Without a game at the weekend because scheduled opponents Boreham Wood are on FA Cup duty, Wrexham have reached the midway point in their campaign.

The Reds find themselves among the National League pacesetters after taking 39 points from their first 22 matches and are only four points behind leaders Chesterfield.

Parkinson insists it is still all to play for, with Wrexham within touching distance of the leaders despite last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Notts County, but he is demanding even more from his promotion-chasing side in the final 22 fixtures.

“We are third and I think with the changes we made in the summer and bringing a lot of players in, we are relatively pleased but we are looking to improve," said Parkinson. "We have got to strive to get better.

"It is going to be an exciting second part of the season. I am sure there are going to be a lot of big games and it really is all to play for.

"We are looking forward to the challenge which lies ahead.

"I'm a bit low after the defeat like everybody but ready to roll up our sleeves; everybody is ready to go again and really tackle these 22 games full-on, and give ourselves every chance.

"I said I wanted to get into January in contention and I feel that we have achieved that.

"Now it is stage two and we have really got to be ready as a group to be at our very best throughout the second part of the season.

"Have a look at what we have done well, look at what we can improve on, and give ourselves the best possible chance of accumulating enough points to keep us right in and amongst it."