Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has conceded that Friday's crushing 6-0 defeat to West Ham United ranks among the toughest moments he has experienced since taking charge of the club.
The Red Dragons were completely overrun at London Stadium, unable to live with a West Ham side that dominated from start to finish. The margin of defeat was particularly striking given the context: it marked Wrexham's heaviest loss in league competition in 22 years, harking back to a similar 6-0 scoreline suffered away at Bournemouth in 2004.
Speaking after the match, Parkinson did not shy away from the scale of the setback, insisting that responsibility for the display had to be shared across the entire club rather than pinned solely on the players who took to the pitch.
"We're going to make sure we have that accountability as individuals and as staff," Parkinson said. He added that the club would look to bounce back quickly, stating, "We'll respond and we've got to put the ingredients back in place very quickly to put in a better performance than we did."
The Wrexham boss was particularly candid about what he saw as a lack of resilience at a crucial juncture of the game, suggesting his side had shown a vulnerability that had not been evident before. "This is the first night where we looked like we had a soft centre when it really mattered most and we've got to rediscover that," he said.
Despite the severity of the loss, Parkinson used the moment to offer some perspective on his tenure at the club, pushing back against any notion that his time in charge had been free of difficulty. He pointed out that there had been challenging spells in each of his seasons at the helm, even if outside perceptions of his reign have often been overwhelmingly positive.
"Everyone thinks it's been a complete bed of roses since I've been here [but] we've had other days that have been really, really tough," Parkinson explained. "We've had setbacks and each season I've been here we've had periods where it's not been going well and from the outside the team can look a little lost."
He stressed, however, that the club had always found a way to recover from such difficult periods in the past, and expressed confidence that this latest setback would prove no different. "And then we've rediscovered what we're all about as a side," he said.
Looking ahead, Parkinson called on his squad to dig deep and respond to the disappointment of the West Ham defeat with renewed determination. "We've got to find a way back and give ourselves a chance. We need to show more character and resilience," he said.
The result will inevitably raise questions about Wrexham's ability to compete at this level, but Parkinson's track record of steering the club through previous rough patches will offer some reassurance that the current difficulties can be overcome. Attention now turns to how quickly the team can regroup and demonstrate the fighting qualities their manager has demanded following one of the most chastening results of his time in charge.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.