Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has hit back at Sheffield United captain Billy Sharp after the 37-year-old frontman allegedly shouted disrespectful comments down the tunnel after the Blades’ 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round replay victory at Bramall Lane. Late goals from Sharp and Sander Berge set up a fifth-round tie with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur after Paul Mullin’s penalty cancelled out Anel Ahmedhodzic’s opener in another cracking, rollercoaster cup tie.
Yet despite victory, Sharp still took issue with the way Wrexham’s players ‘overlooked’ the Blades as they dreamed of a mouthwatering tie with Spurs at the Racecourse Ground
The Blades skipper hit out at the Non-League outfit during his post-match interview with ITV – indicating the opposition players had really got under his skin.
Parkinson, who knows Sharp from his time working as a manager inside the Football League, was really disappointed with the experienced Sheffield United – claiming he shouted some “disrespectful” things down the tunnel at full-time
“I was a bit disappointed with Billy, with some of the things he was shouting down the tunnel,” Parkinson said.
“He’s a fantastic player but I thought he was disrespectful after the game. The way their players celebrated was a mark of how tough we made it for them.
“My message to Billy is: you’re better than that. My players are humble people and they’re a credit to the football club.”
An agitated Sharp had said during his post-match debrief: “I wasn’t happy the way they’ve been as a club.
“Before the game, eyeing up Spurs when they haven’t even beaten us. We’re an honest set of lads and we want to go as far as we can in this competition.
“If we get beat in the next round so be it, but we’ll give it a real go. I think they thought we were just going to roll over when they got back in it.
“The referee was helping them all night as well, I don’t think he gave me one foul all night tonight.
“But it’s one of those things, I probably lost my head a little bit. But I’ve got a smile on my face now because we’re through to the next round and we deserve it.”
Prior to kick-off, Wrexham’s star striker Mullin was asked whether the club can afford to dream of their potential fifth-round meeting with Tottenham.
But he made it clear his team-mates were simply focused on the task at hand as he talked up the difficulty of earning a positive result at Bramall Lane – despite Wrexham’s incredible support.
