PHIL PARKINSON knows criticism will come Wrexham's way after letting a winning position slip but the Reds' boss has backed his players to respond to a disappointing defeat.
Wrexham suffered a 2-1 loss against West Brom at The Racecourse on Tuesday night and slipped to 16th place in the Championship.
Striker Kieffer Moore gave the hosts a 64th minute lead with a spectacular 25-yard drive but the Baggies scored two late goals to inflict a third league defeat of the season on the Reds.
With expectations as high as ever at Wrexham, Parkinson says now is the moment for his squad to show their resilience when they entertain bottom of the table Preston North End on Saturday.
"It's going to be a game which we've got to show character and I'm looking forward to seeing us do that," he said.
"That's when you need us all to stand up and step up to the plate as a group, and that's what we're going to do at the weekend.
"We'll all be hurting with a defeat, there's no doubt about that.
"We know we're at a club with expectancy. We've dealt with that through the last five years, and we'll deal with that again at the weekend.
"I'm sure that we'll take criticism for the defeat which in every game of football if you lose, that's inevitable, and we totally accept that.
"But there's a lot of resilience at that training ground, and we're going to show it in the build-up to the Preston game.
"It's about pulling together and galvanising the group.
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"It's very disappointing for everybody but when you've lost a game at home, it's time to batten down the hatches and come out strong as a group, and that's what we're going to do."
Parkinson admits defeat was tough to take but he pointed to football's fine margins after Wrexham recently celebrated late goals of their own.
"It is very difficult to take, but football is a cruel game. It's a tough industry," he said.
"It's a division we know is so tight at times and such slight margins separate games, and tonight we've come on the wrong side.
"Saturday we scored in the last minute to equalise (and draw 1-1 at Derby), against Southampton we scored late to win the game and tonight it's gone against us."
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