Following a memorable night against Welsh rivals Swansea City on home soil last time out, Wrexham stumbled on the road this week and are now on their travels again on Saturday with everything still to play for.
A painful 3-1 defeat at Watford in midweek means that for the first time since late January, the Red Dragons now have their faces pressed up against the play-off window – looking in from the outside, rather than down at the clubs below them.
READ MORE: Phil Parkinson Admits Slow Start Cost Wrexham Points at Watford as Play-Off Gap Narrows
For seven weeks, Phil Parkinson’s side had stayed inside the top six. But Southampton’s 1-0 victory over Norwich City on Wednesday meant the Saints moved above Wrexham on goal difference.
Both clubs have played 38 matches and have almost identical records – 16 wins, 12 draws and 10 defeats, but Wrexham’s goal difference is five short of their rivals.
It means there is going to be little margin for error as both clubs chase the remaining 24 points on offer, but Wrexham do hold some advantages.
READ MORE: Phil Parkinson Heaps Praise in Wrexham Character After Show of Strength Subdues Swansea City
Manager Parkinson's men now have the second of three successive away matches, facing Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Saturday, before travelling to West Bromwich Albion in their first fixture after the international break on Good Friday.
For many sides reaching the crunch point of the campaign, that would be a somewhat daunting prospect.
But while Parkinson will be under no illusions as to the scale of the task that lies ahead for his troops over the coming weeks, the experienced boss can have plenty of confidence given his side's record away from Stok Cae Ras.
READ MORE: Kieffer Moore Blow Casts Shadow Over Wales and Wrexham Hopes
Despite the loss at Vicarage Road, Wrexham have lost just five of their 17 away league games this season, the joint second-best record in the division (alongside Middlesbrough and Coventry City) behind Millwall.
Southampton are applying plenty of pressure on those in red, mind. The Saints' 2-1 win at leaders Coventry was arguably the biggest surprise of last weekend in the second tier and Tonda Eckert's side backed that up with their win over the Canaries.
But it’s arguable that Southampton cannot match the squad strength, or breadth, Wrexham possess as we head into the sharp end of the campaign, despite significant injuries lately at the Racecourse Ground.
Wrexham Striker Kieffer Moore and left wing-back Liberato Cacace will remain sidelined until at least early April, while midfield duo Ben Sheaf and Matty James are also out injured.
So, their already tough task has not been made any easier, but they have proven time and time again that they can rotate the squad sufficiently to cope with such issues.
Having reached 60 points as a result of their memorable triumph over Swansea, Wrexham are now just 13 points shy of the so-called magic total of 73 points - the sum which, on average, teams finishing sixth have ended the season with since the Championship was rebranded by the English Football League in 2004.
To achieve that total, they will need to earn just over half of the 24 points they still have left to play for.
It certainly won't be easy given that six of their remaining nine matches are away from north Wales, although, given how they have performed on the road so far in the Championship, that may suit Parkinson's men perfectly as they remain in the hunt to make it back-to-back-to-back-to-back.
Wrexham have typically responded well after losses during Parkinson's reign and the manager says he will closely monitor the fitness of his players as his side look to get back on track.
"It's time to dust ourselves down, it's just about concentration levels on what we need to do at Bramall Lane," said Parkinson.
"It's a great opportunity for us to get back to winning ways before the international break.
"Ideally we would want Southampton to drop points, but they didn't. But this weekend is about one almighty effort from all the squad, all the staff and all the supporters.
"This game takes us into a two-week break. It's right up there, I feel, in terms of importance of games, not just this season, but since I've been here. I'll always include the supporters in that.
"Bramall Lane is an amazing arena to play at. Their supporters will be vociferously behind the team and I know our supporters are going to play their part.
"As a team and a staff, we've got to be ready to finish this block of games off and bring us back into the last seven games with a great chance."
