Wrexham

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Humphrey Ker is stepping down as a director of Wrexham after five years with the north Wales club.

Ker, an actor and comedian, is credited with playing an important role in bring Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac – formerly McElhenney – to Wrexham in 2021.

He was Wrexham's executive director before leaving that post last year, and will leave the board completely as well as vacating his role as a trustee of the Wrexham AFC Foundation.

Wrexham said Key had been an "integral part" of their growth during his association with the club.

"Working for and representing Wrexham AFC and the wider town has been the greatest honour of my life," Ker told the club's website.

"The way the club has evolved and is now structured has made it progressively harder for me to make a positive contribution so, sad as I am to be leaving, I now feel watching from a distance is the right thing for me."

Ker, 43, was heavily involved in the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series, which has been viewed around the world.

He said earlier this year that the series had helped increase the popularity of football in the USA.

Co-chairmen Mac and Reynolds said: "Humphrey has been a key piece of the Wrexham story from day one and his kindness, humour and height will be missed but never forgotten."

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Phil Parkinson lauded the impact of Ben Sheaf following the midfielder's performance in Wrexham's win against Southampton.

The midfielder has been absent due to a combination of calf, knee and shoulder issues but made his first start since February against the Saints.

Speaking after the 2-1 victory, Parkinson revealed the coaching staff have been carefully planning Sheaf's route back to full match fitness over recent days.

"Ben Sheaf, I'm so pleased with him today," said Parkinson.

"We looked at the data, the medical team and the sports science team did a presentation about where he was physically and comparing to the last time he played his first full game against Norwich away.

"We felt it was comparable for 60-65 minutes and he showed what a class player he is."

Ollie Rathbone and Danny Imray were both absent from the matchday squad for the contest with Tonda Eckert's side.

Parkinson confirmed Rathbone is sidelined with an ankle issue while Imray was left out as a precautionary measure after his hamstring tightened up in midweek.

"Ollie, when he had the shot against Burnley, he landed awkwardly and damaged his ankle ligaments," said Parkinson.

"It's not serious but it was obviously enough to keep him out today.

"Danny, his hamstring tightened up in training."

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson hails his side's "gritty, determined performance" after their late 2-1 win over Southampton.

Read more: Wrexham earn last-gasp victory over Southampton

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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham's Championship contest with Southampton (15:00 BST) gives his side the opportunity to get "back on track" following their 6-0 loss to West Ham United last time out.

The Red Dragons had been in encouraging form prior to that emphatic defeat by the Hammers.

They come up against a Saints side that have claimed 14 of the 21 points on offer so far this season.

"It's a great opportunity for us to get ourselves back on track," said the Wrexham manager.

"Of course they're a good side, we've looked at the teams who've done well against them or better against them and the ones who've struggled.

"We're looking at ways where we can create opportunities but equally making sure we're tighter as a team and we can compact the pitch quicker and I'm confident we'll be able to do that."

West Ham had 19 shots, nine of which were on target, against Wrexham at the London Stadium eight days ago.

The hefty loss came after Wrexham had kept two clean sheets in their three games prior to the trip to the English capital.

And while frustrated to be on the receiving end of what was the club's heaviest league defeat in 22 years, Parkinson says one of Wrexham's key aims against Tonda Eckert's men is to rediscover their best defensive form.

"It's switching back quickly to what we've done for the majority of the games this season where we've restricted the opposition to not a great deal, particularly in those two clean sheets we got (against Millwall and Swansea City)," added Parkinson.

"It's the compactness, the togetherness of the team, out of possession; it's that buy-in which we've always had and accepting that, at times, good teams and good players are going to play through you.

"When that happens, we've got to respond and we've got to make sure we're ready to defend in key moments."

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Wrexham wing-back Issa Kabore has been included in Burkina Faso's squad for their upcoming international fixtures.

The Stallions kick off their Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign against Benin on 25 September.

They round off the first international camp of the 2026-27 season against Central African Republic on 28 September.

Wing-back Kabore, who spent last season on loan at the Racecourse Ground, has featured five times in the Championship since joining Wrexham on a permanent deal from Manchester City in the summer.

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Wrexham's Jacques Ekomie has been called up to the Gabon squad for their opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The left wing-back has been included in the Panthers' 24-man squad for their fixtures against Morocco on 25 September and Niger on 29 September.

Ekomie - who joined the Red Dragons from French side Angers in the summer transfer window - has featured in five successive Championship matches for Wrexham.

He scored his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Millwall on 2 September and netted a crucial equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Burnley six days later.

Wrexham will look to bounce back from their bruising 6-0 defeat to West Ham United last week with a victory over another promotional hopeful in Southampton.

After their opening day loss to Watford though, the Saints have not been beaten in the Championship and have been victorious in their past two games, while the Red Dragons have only won one in seven.

• Wrexham have lost four of their last five league meetings with Southampton (W1), including both last season.

• Southampton's two wins over Wrexham last season were by an aggregate score of 7-1 – the most goals any side scored against the Red Dragons in the 2025-26 Championship.

• After only conceding five goals in their first six Championship games this season, Wrexham lost 6-0 to West Ham last time out, their heaviest Football League defeat since February 2004 to Bournemouth (also 6-0).

• Southampton have won 18 league games in 2026, last winning more in a calendar year in 2011 (33), and last doing so within the top two tiers of English football in 2006 (19).

• No player has been involved in more Championship goals this season than Southampton's Finn Azaz (7 – 3 goals, 4 assists), while he leads the competition for open play assists (4) and is joint-first for chances created from open play (14).

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Former Wales defender Danny Gabbidon says Wrexham should not panic after their 6-0 thrashing at West Ham, adding that the defeat could act as a "reset" for the Championship club.

Boss Phil Parkinson - who has managed Wrexham from the National League to the Championship - described the defeat at the London Stadium as among the lowest points of his time at the Hollywood-owned club.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales' Feast of Football phone-in, Gabbidon acknowledged the pressure Parkinson is under, but says the Wrexham boss deserves to be backed.

"I think we should allow the manager a little bit of time after what he's done through previous seasons, how good he's been," said Gabbidon.

"You could sense his disappointment, his frustration after the game and just maybe questioning the mentality and the work rate of his team at the minute.

"I'm sure he'll address that now in the next couple of weeks."

Gabbidon, a former West Ham player, thinks the quality of the Hammers' squad must also be taken into account when assessing Wrexham's performance in east London.

"Pressure will start to build, obviously, if those kind of terrible results continue, but it's still very early in the season," he added.

"You look at that West Ham team, they [Wrexham] won't be the only team that they do that to.

"They've got some fantastic players and if you're slightly off your game and not quite at it, which Wrexham were, then a team like West Ham are capable of doing that."

Gabbidon believes Parkinson should just see it as a "bad day at the office".

"Sometimes when you get those kind of results as a player or as a manager, it just livens and wakens everybody up and resets you," he said.

"Wrexham have been so good for so long now. They've been charging through the divisions.

"They had a good season last season and maybe there's a little bit of complacency there, with new signings coming in again and maybe players not quite up to speed yet.

"So, you just hope a result like that resets everyone, refocuses everyone and the manager will be expecting a positive reaction come the next game."

We asked you for your thoughts on Wrexham in the wake of Friday's heavy defeat at West Ham United.

Here are some of your views.

Tim: Not competitive individually or as a team. Poorly set up and deservingly exposed by the Hammers.

John: It's shone a light. Notwithstanding it's a £300m-plus squad vs a £60m squad, Wrexham don't get taken to the cleaners like that. It'll bring into sharp focus that previous performances this season have been underwhelming (though as Wrexham fans we're used to the long hangover from pre-season). Time for calm heads, always assuming he (Phil Parkinson) has the squad he needs. I expect they'll be taking a good look at what free agents are still out there.

Rod: From that display, Wrexham's aspirations to be a Premier League side are in tatters. If they can be trashed by a relegated side, what would the Premier League clubs do to them week after week? They now know how hard life at the top can be.

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John: A disastrous performance by Wrexham, seemingly the defenders that have been signed are not up to the mark and the failure to hit the target by the strikers is ominous. At best, mid-table, at worst relegation candidates.

William: Wrexham are so negative, always safety first. Parkinson out of his depth, time for him to be thanked for his wonderful service and move on.

Michael: This defeat says more about West Ham than Wrexham. Take it on the chin. Get angry, get even and move on. Maybe a big personality on the pitch, (a role James McClean took on in the past) is missing. Come on Wrexham!

Joe: Their defending was worse than a pub team. They didn't seem to care. The players should pay their supporters' club for the travel expenses.

Gary: A sobering experience for a team that has risen through the tiers in an extraordinary rate of time... Hopefully patience will show to be a mark of wisdom. A well-built structure never totally collapses in a single storm.

Tim: The calls for Parkinson's head will be many, loud and strong now. Too many balls played with the head and not controlled on the ground which ends in lost possession. Same with long balls played into covered spaces. Play isn't forward [and] direct on the ground - it's 75% backwards. Big problems.

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Carl: I do hate to say this but I've felt this for some time Phil's time at the helm has run its course. Tactically we are just all at sea. We were very lucky last year to finish as well as we did but we urgently need to change our approach. I'm disappointed that we didn't take the opportunity to strengthen the defence and midfield. We have talented strikers but at this level it's about getting the ball to them and being able to defend well up the field. Phil's approach of sitting back and soaking up pressure has us not seeing much of the ball. We got away with it last season, this season we will not be so lucky.

Nathan: It's been coming, the squad is average at best and they have been overperforming for some time now. The quality to challenge for promotion to the Premier League is not there. They need to take a step back and reassess their recruitment choices in my opinion.

Colin: Superb story over the last few years - now need a serious revamp.