THERE'S a lot at stake as the race for promotion in League Two hots up but Phil Parkinson has urged his players to show more calmness in front of goal.

Wrexham have failed to score in their last two games which were both at The Racecourse, with last Tuesday's goalless draw with Harrogate Town followed by a 1-0 derby defeat to Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

Drawing a blank at home has been a rarity under Parkinson but the Reds remain well placed in the quest for a top-three finish.

Wrexham are third in the table but are now five points behind leaders Mansfield Town. Second placed Stockport County are one point ahead of the Reds with a game in hand after drawing 1-1 with Crawley on Monday night, while MK Dons in fourth are also on the same tally as Parkinson's men but have played a match more.

Failure to score at a vital stage of the season is a concern - Wrexham had 25 attempts on goal but only four on target against Tranmere - but Parkinson has faith in his players and says composure is key to the Reds finding their shooting boots again in the remaining eight games.

"The stats are there for all to see and we have got to look at why," said Parkinson, who takes his side to Grimsby Town on Saturday.

"It's not that players lose ability, we have just got to show more calmness and we have got to review that in training this week.

"Go to Grimsby and have the same kind of intensity and fighting spirit but just have a little bit more coolness in and around that opposition box.

"If we do that, like we did against Morecambe and like we have done in the past, we will punish teams."

Wrexham dominated both games against Harrogate and Tranmere, who took an early lead, but lacked a cutting edge in the final third.

However, Parkinson was confident his side would go on to clinch victory if they made the breakthrough.

"It's getting that first goal where it takes the spirit away from teams," he said.

"Going back to the Bradford game, they were hanging on by a thread and we needed to get that first goal.

"It is very difficult as a team to keep playing with that same spirit and desire that Tranmere showed but we gave them something to hang onto with that goal.

"It's a very poor goal from our point of view but some of the play was really good in that first period.

"I just felt we were almost a bit desperate at times and some of the decisions weren't quite right but some of the football we played was excellent.

"But football is all about scoring goals and we weren't able to do that.

"We are bitterly disappointed we haven't been able to get something from the game but we review it and move on."