Wrexham’s home is being rebuilt and so is the team’s defence – both projects are important

Some had followed the regular drone footage of the summer building work on Wrexham’s new Kop. Others had caught a glimpse during The Racecourse Ground’s stint as a host venue in the UEFA Under-19s European Championship.For most Wrexham fans, however, Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Watford in the first home game of the season was their first chance in a little over three months to take in the considerable progress made on a £69.1million structure that will go a long way towards making The Racecourse Ground Premier League-ready.If the team is to enjoy the same standing, similarly strong foundations will be required. Hence why Phil Parkinson’s remit during the summer has been to improve on a hugely encouraging first year back at Championship level that had one major Achilles heel. A tendency to concede far too many goals on home soil.Wrexham’s impressive new stand is taking shape (Richard Sutcliffe/The Athletic)Last season, Wrexham conceded 37 goals in 23 league games in front of their own supporters, the joint second-highest tally in the Championship alongside 15th-placed Queens Park Rangers. Only rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday let in more (44).There was no one standout reason behind this poor record with the 260 shots faced by Wrexham on their own patch only the eighth-highest in the division (Wednesday were top with 342).Likewise, the errors that Opta consider to have led to goals being conceded at home was only the joint seventh-highest at 13, tied with promoted duo Ipswich Town and Hull City, plus Sheffield United, who finished 13th.Where Wrexham stood out in an unwanted manner, however, was the disparity between an expected goals against (xGA) of 27.36, almost 10 goals fewer than the number of times Arthur Okonkwo and Danny Ward were beaten.Contrast that with how the two figures for most clubs in the Championship fell within a couple of points — Wednesday, for instance, had an xGA of 45.28 that tallied pretty nearly with 44 goals conceded — and it points to a defensive unit that struggled to keep out even the most innocuous of chances.