PHIL PARKINSON admits it was always going to be tough against a West Ham side oozing quality but admits his players weren't good enough on the night.
Wrexham suffered a 6-0 thrashing against Championship high-fliers West Ham at The London Stadium.
Six different goalscorers enabled the Hammers, relegated from the Premier League last season but favourites to clinch the title, to seal an emphatic win and return to the top of the table.
It was 2-0 at the break but when Nuno Espírito Santo's men scored a third goal two minutes into the second half, the Reds caved in to Parkinson's dismay.
“They are a team absolutely flying high and that third goal was a real blow because at 2-0, you’re still in the game," he said.
“We needed to speak about how we felt we’d get back in the game and as a staff, we thought about what substitutes we’d make to give us a chance as the half progressed.
“But obviously when the goals go in, then it becomes very difficult to make attacking substitutions because it’s almost making sure that we’ve got enough character on the pitch to see the game through."
Although the Hammers have a squad fit for the top-flight and were always going to be tough opponents, Parkinson was disappointed how Wrexham performed on the night in front of 59,172 fans - the largest attendance in the club's history - and allowed the home side to run away with a comfortable fourth successive victory.
“It was a tough night for us," added Parkinson, whose side return to action at home to Southampton on Saturday.
"We have very rarely come up short on big nights or big occasions, I can’t remember too many occasions when it’s been billed as a really top game that we’ve come out and we haven’t performed to our maximum.
“Even if we performed at our maximum and we had shown that resilience and better defensive principles, we still may have ended up getting beat because of the quality they possess, but we can do better.
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“You know when you come to a place like this with the quality they’ve got, you’ve got to defend in terms of stopping crosses, defending the box, tracking runners.
“It’s got to be absolutely spot on, it’s got to be nailed on to give ourselves a chance.
“I think with the ball at times in the first half, we switched the play well. We got in some really good positions but over the course of the 90 minutes, we still gave the ball away cheaply.
“And when you do that against a good side, and don’t take enough care, then you can come under pressure very quickly.”
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