In the latest edition of our weekly column taking you inside the world of AFC Wrexham, former player Mia Roberts talks us through a change in approach for Phil Parkinson

Wrexham have made a slow start to the season. Twelve games in and a record of three wins, four draws and five defeats. The feeling remains that we have not yet seen a complete and totally positive 90 minutes of football.

And when you're conceding sloppy goals and then not being clinical in front of goal, it's easy to see why we currently sit 17th. But why is this the case?

Are slow starts to season something that we have to just accept? Let's not forget that it's not the first time we have come out of the traps slightly off the pace.

At this stage of last season, we sat in 16th on the exact same points as now, with the same number of wins, draws and losses but we had scored one more and conceded one fewer. In the end, it turned out well with the club achieving its highest-ever league finish.

I think many fans expected more from the opening few weeks, with new summer signings arriving on big deals which surely suggested the team would be further ahead of where it was last season.

But I would urge fans to be patient and remember the Championship is incredibly tough especially when you finish 7th in the year prior.

Out of the last five teams to finish 7th, in their following season 4 of those have gone onto finish 17th or below (the outlier being Middlesbrough). A perfect statistic that demonstrates the madness of the division.

I'm not saying let's all be happy with lowly league finish. But with key players still to return from injury, and new signings still needing to fully settle in, I certainly feel that this side still has the ability and most certainly the potential to be right up there pushing for those play-off spots in a few months' time.

So, where do our struggles come from? Well, we don't dominate teams on the most part. Possession isn't and never really has been our style. Our direct approach is largely driven by Kieffer Moore but maybe it is time for a tweak.

Let's not forget that there is now an additional two play-off spots up for grabs.

In two of our three wins, Wrexham dominated possession, with 61 percent in each. When you have players such as Ben Sheaf, Matty James, Ben Whiteman, keeping hold of the ball is certainly achievable.

Yet we need to be more defensively solid. Too many poor decisions in key moments have left us requiring a lot from those at the top of the pitch and although I believe Moore has had an excellent start to this season, he cannot rescue us time and time again.

When Max Cleworth came back into the side at Millwall, I thought he added a calmness and a sense of experience that his seniors haven't yet shown. He is as big a miss as Josh Windass with what he offers defensively but also as a threat in the opposite box too.

So, do we just prioritize being direct? The win vs Southampton was a Parkinson classic, with just 34% of the ball plus fewer shots and big chances than the opposition. But those three points were secured and that's the most important thing.

That method has worked time and time again. Everyone who has witnessed Wrexham rise up the leagues should already know that. Again though, that defensive solidity is vital and a few more Anthony Patterson clean sheets will certainly be welcome.

Still, I fully back this team and the manager, though I worry there are fewer agreeing with my sentiment.

Three more games until another international break at which point hopefully, we will have seen a bit more on-pitch positivity and of course some more points on the board. Here's hoping! Up the town.