Stephen John Parkin (born 7 November 1965) is an English football manager and former player who played as a defender. As of 2021, he serves as the assistant manager at Wrexham. He played for Mansfield Town, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion and has been manager of Barnsley, Mansfield Town and Rochdale (two spells). Playing career Parkin was born in Mansfield and began his career with Stoke City, captaining the youth team to the final of the FA Youth Cup in 1984 where they lost out to Everton. He made his senior debut against Nottingham Forest in 1982–83 and was part of the defence which kept a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory. He played 16 games in 1984–85 in which was an awful season for Stoke as they suffered an embarrassing relegation, going down with a then record low points tally of 17. Parkin played 18 games in 1985–86 under new manager Mick Mills and fully established himself in the side in 1986–87 making 46 appearances as Stoke missed out on the play-offs by six points. He played in 50 matches in 1987–88 before a groin injury restricted him to only four appearances in 1988–89. Parkin then moved on to West Bromwich Albion where he spent three seasons making 54 appearances scoring twice. He joined his home-town club Mansfield Town in July 1992 and was a player at Field Mill for four seasons making 96 appearances scoring four goals before retiring to become manager of the club. Managerial career Mansfield Town Parkin started his managerial career at Mansfield Town at the start of the 1996–97 season after Andy King was sacked. Parkin, only 30 at the time, and club captain, took over as a caretaker manager, but went to last three seasons with the Stags, missing out closely on the play-offs in two of his three seasons. Parkin left Mansfield after his position became untenable due to a transfer embargo on the Nottinghamshire club, and joined Rochdale in the summer before the 1999–2000 season. Rochdale Parkin's first spell at Rochdale was a great success, and he lifted the Lancashire club from the depths of the league to an 8th-place finish in his first season. The team's success paved the way for big money signings like Paul Connor and Clive Platt. Barnsley On 9 November 2001 Parkin left Spotland and joined Barnsley. Parkin's spell at Barnsley was not a productive