Introduction
Steve Parkin is an English football coach, former manager and former professional player best known today as Phil Parkinson’s long-serving assistant manager at Wrexham AFC. Before moving into coaching, Parkin played league football for Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Mansfield Town, then managed Mansfield, Rochdale and Barnsley.
As of August 2026, Parkin is 60 and remains part of the Wrexham coaching team. He has been beside Parkinson throughout Wrexham’s rise from the National League to the Championship, including three consecutive promotions between 2023 and 2025.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Stephen John Parkin |
| Date of Birth | November 7, 1965 |
| Age | 60, as of August 2026 |
| Birthplace | Mansfield, England |
| Nationality | English |
| Known For | Former football manager and Wrexham assistant manager |
| Playing Clubs | Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Mansfield Town |
| Clubs Managed | Mansfield Town, Rochdale, Barnsley |
| Current Role | Assistant manager at Wrexham AFC |
| Wrexham Appointment | July 1, 2021 |
| Major Playing Achievement | Stoke City Player of the Year in 1988 |
| Major Recent Achievement | Part of Wrexham staff during three consecutive promotions from 2023 to 2025 |
Who Is Steve Parkin? Early Career and Playing Years
Steve Parkin was born in Mansfield on November 7, 1965. His football career developed at Stoke City, where he came through the club’s system and was part of the youth side that reached the 1984 FA Youth Cup final.
He later became a regular senior player for Stoke. Soccerbase records 113 league appearances and five league goals for the club before he moved to West Bromwich Albion in 1989.
The 1987–88 season was one of the strongest periods of Parkin’s playing career. Historical club records list him as Stoke City’s Player of the Year in 1988.
He also represented England at Under-21 level. Detailed historical match records indicate that Parkin appeared six times for England U21s and captained the team against France in a European Championship semi-final in April 1988.
That detail is worth highlighting because some shorter football profiles list a lower number of U21 appearances. Match-by-match records provide stronger evidence for the six-cap total.
Parkin joined West Bromwich Albion in 1989 in a move recorded at around £190,000. He made 48 league appearances there before returning to his hometown area by joining Mansfield Town in 1992.
His playing career then moved naturally into leadership. Rather than leaving football after his final seasons as a player, Parkin stepped into management while still closely connected to Mansfield.
How Steve Parkin Built His Management Career
Parkin became Mansfield Town manager during the 1996–97 season after previously serving the club as a player and captain.
He was only around 30 when he took responsibility for the first team, making him a relatively young manager by Football League standards.
Mansfield were competitive during his spell. The club finished eighth in 1998–99, only four points outside the play-off positions.
Parkin’s departure that summer is often shortened to a simple statement that he resigned. Contemporary reporting provides more context.
Mansfield were operating under a transfer embargo, and Parkin said promises made to him had not been kept after several players had already been released. He resigned in June 1999.
That situation matters because it shows his first managerial exit was tied not only to results but also to the club’s financial and squad-building problems.
He quickly moved to Rochdale, where he began his first spell in charge in June 1999.
Rochdale’s own club history credits Parkin with helping make the team more competitive. They finished 10th in his first full season and eighth the following year, missing the play-offs narrowly.
The club also invested more heavily during his time. Rochdale’s historical records say transfer records were broken for Clive Platt and later Paul Connor.
Those results attracted interest from higher up the Football League. In November 2001, Barnsley appointed Parkin while the club was struggling near the bottom of the First Division, then the second tier of English football.
Barnsley, Rochdale and the Challenges of Management
Parkin arrived at Barnsley on November 9, 2001, with the team sitting second from bottom.
There was an initial improvement, including a 12-match unbeaten league run. But Barnsley could not recover enough to avoid relegation and finished 23rd in the 2001–02 season.
The club’s problems went beyond the pitch.
By October 2002, Barnsley were in administration and dealing with serious financial pressure. Parkin was dismissed on October 15 after the club won four of its first 13 league matches of the new season.
It would be inaccurate to describe the Barnsley spell only as a failed managerial job. The results were not good enough, but the financial crisis surrounding the club is important context when judging that period.
Parkin later worked in an assistant role at Notts County before returning to Rochdale on December 31, 2003.
His second spell began with the immediate task of keeping the club away from danger. Rochdale later finished ninth under him, although the team eventually struggled after losing important attacking players, including Grant Holt and Rickie Lambert.
Parkin left Rochdale by mutual consent in December 2006.
That proved to be a major turning point in his career. He had spent roughly a decade working as a permanent first-team manager, but he would increasingly move into coaching and assistant-manager roles.
Steve Parkin and Phil Parkinson: A Long-Term Partnership
Parkin joined Hull City’s coaching staff in 2007 and later had a short caretaker role alongside Brian Horton after Phil Brown was placed on gardening leave in 2010.
After further coaching work at Scunthorpe United, Parkin made the move that would shape the next stage of his career.
Phil Parkinson appointed him assistant manager at Bradford City on September 22, 2011.
Their working relationship would continue across several clubs and become one of the more durable manager-assistant partnerships in English football.
Bradford enjoyed major success during the 2012–13 season. The League Two club reached the League Cup final at Wembley and later returned to the same stadium to win promotion through the League Two play-offs.
Parkinson publicly praised his backroom staff, including Parkin, for their part in that season.
Parkin later followed Parkinson to Bolton Wanderers in June 2016.
Their first season there ended with Bolton earning automatic promotion from League One to the Championship. Both men later signed new contracts.
The Bolton job became much harder as the club’s financial problems deepened. Parkinson and Parkin eventually left in August 2019.
They were reunited at Sunderland later that year before moving together again when Wrexham appointed Parkinson as manager in July 2021.
By 2026, Parkin and Parkinson had worked together across Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Wrexham.
That long relationship is central to understanding Parkin’s modern career. He moved from being the man making the final managerial decision to becoming a trusted senior coach working closely behind the manager.
Steve Parkin’s Role in Wrexham’s Rise
Wrexham appointed Phil Parkinson as manager on July 1, 2021, with Steve Parkin joining as assistant manager.
At that point, Wrexham were still playing in the National League and had spent more than a decade outside the Football League.
The transformation that followed has become one of the most closely watched stories in English football.
Wrexham won the National League title in 2022–23 and returned to the Football League after a 15-year absence.
They did not stop there.
In April 2024, Wrexham secured another promotion, moving from League Two into League One.
One year later, the club achieved a third consecutive promotion by earning a place in the Championship for the 2025–26 season.
That made Parkin part of a coaching staff that helped Wrexham rise three divisions in three seasons.
His role does not receive the same public attention as Parkinson’s, but major reporting around Wrexham’s success has repeatedly identified him as Parkinson’s experienced right-hand man.
The pair’s history also gives Wrexham something valuable: a coaching partnership that had already handled promotions, relegation battles, cup runs and serious financial problems at other clubs.
Wrexham’s first Championship season provided another test.
The team finished seventh in 2025–26 with 71 points, only two points behind Hull City in sixth place and therefore just outside the play-off positions.
For a club that had been playing non-league football only a few years earlier, finishing close to the Championship play-offs showed how far the project had moved.
Steve Parkin Career Timeline
| Year | What Happened | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Stoke youth team reached FA Youth Cup final | Early step in Parkin’s professional career |
| 1988 | Stoke City Player of the Year | Major individual recognition |
| 1988 | Captained England U21 against France | Highlight of his international youth career |
| 1989 | Joined West Bromwich Albion | Continued his Football League career |
| 1992 | Joined Mansfield Town | Returned to his hometown club and moved toward management |
| 1996 | Became Mansfield manager | First permanent management role |
| 1999 | Joined Rochdale | Built a team that challenged near the play-offs |
| 2001 | Appointed Barnsley manager | Stepped into second-tier management |
| 2003 | Returned to Rochdale | Began his second spell in charge |
| 2006 | Left Rochdale | Last permanent managerial job to date |
| 2011 | Joined Phil Parkinson at Bradford | Start of their long coaching partnership |
| 2013 | Bradford reached League Cup final and won promotion | Major success as assistant manager |
| 2016 | Joined Bolton Wanderers | Continued partnership with Parkinson |
| 2017 | Bolton won promotion | Another promotion on his coaching record |
| 2021 | Joined Wrexham | Start of his most prominent recent role |
| 2023–2025 | Wrexham won three straight promotions | Historic rise from National League to Championship |
| 2026 | Wrexham finished seventh in Championship | Confirmed the club could compete at second-tier level |
Steve Parkin Net Worth and Personal Life
There is no reliable public estimate of Steve Parkin’s net worth from Forbes, Bloomberg or another authoritative financial source.
Football salary websites and biography pages sometimes publish estimated earnings for managers and coaches, but such figures should not be treated as verified personal wealth.
The same caution applies to his private life.
Reliable public sources reviewed for Parkin’s career do not provide enough evidence to responsibly state the identity of a spouse, the number of children he may have, or other private family details.
For that reason, those claims are better left out than filled with information copied from weak biography websites.
Where Is Steve Parkin Now?
As of August 2026, Steve Parkin remains assistant manager at Wrexham AFC.
He is still working under Phil Parkinson and helping prepare the club for another Championship campaign after Wrexham finished seventh in 2025–26.
Recent reporting in 2026 continued to identify Parkin as Wrexham’s assistant manager, confirming that his position remains active rather than historical.
His career now covers several distinct stages: Football League player, young manager, experienced first-team boss and long-serving assistant.
What makes his current position especially relevant is the scale of Wrexham’s recent progress. Parkin joined when the club was in the National League and remains part of the staff after its rise into the Championship.
Final Thoughts
Steve Parkin’s career is broader than his current job title suggests. He played more than 200 league matches, managed three Football League clubs and later became a key member of Phil Parkinson’s coaching teams.
His most visible recent chapter has come at Wrexham, where he has been part of three consecutive promotions and a strong first Championship season. As of August 2026, he remains one of the experienced figures behind the club’s continued push at a much higher level of English football.
FAQs About Steve Parkin
Who is Steve Parkin?
Steve Parkin is an English former professional footballer and manager who currently works as assistant manager at Wrexham AFC. He previously managed Mansfield Town, Rochdale and Barnsley.
How old is Steve Parkin?
Steve Parkin was born on November 7, 1965. He is 60 years old as of August 2026.
Which clubs did Steve Parkin play for?
Parkin played Football League football for Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Mansfield Town. He recorded 238 league appearances across those three clubs.
Is Steve Parkin Wrexham’s manager?
No. Phil Parkinson is Wrexham’s manager, while Steve Parkin is the assistant manager. Parkin joined the club alongside Parkinson in July 2021.
Are Steve Parkin and Phil Parkinson related?
There is no reliable evidence that Steve Parkin and Phil Parkinson are related. They are long-term professional colleagues who have worked together at Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland and Wrexham.
What is Steve Parkin’s net worth?
Steve Parkin’s net worth has not been reliably confirmed. No credible financial publication has published a verified estimate, so figures found on generic biography websites should be treated cautiously.
What is Steve Parkin doing now?
As of August 2026, Parkin is still assistant manager at Wrexham AFC. He remains part of the coaching staff after helping the club rise from the National League to the Championship.
