Explained: Why Phil Parkinson didn’t join Wrexham’s promotion-winning party in Las Vegas that was paid for by Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney – and where the coaching staff went instead

After seeing the Dragons bring their 15-year exile from the Football League to a close, the club’s Hollywood co-owners funded an all-expenses-paid trip to Nevada for the players that made a record-setting return to the League Two ranks possible.

The likes of Paul Mullin, Ollie Palmer and Ben Foster made the most of a visit to Sin City as they took in relaxing pool parties and visits to famous nightclubs, but Parkinson and his coaching team made a point of steering well clear of those shenanigans.

Parkinson has told talkSPORT of why he avoided the Vegas excursion and where his backroom team headed instead: "I didn't make the Vegas trip. It was by choice. It was by choice only. I thought just let the players go and enjoy it, and all the staff. The owners very kindly paid for the staff to go to Portugal, so we left the players to it."

When asked if he opted out as he did not want to “cramp the players’ style”, Parkinson added: "Exactly. Exactly. I would have done."

Parkinson has continued to work with Reynolds and McElhenney in building a squad that Wrexham believe is capable of securing back-to-back promotions, with the Welsh outfit currently sat fifth in the fourth tier table after taking in 13 eventful league games during the 2023-24 campaign.