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Article continues belowArticle continues belowArticle continues below<script type="application/json" data-placement="fcplayer-semantic">{"type":"fcplayer-semantic","data":{"embedCode":"//cdn.fcp.codes/embed-code-template/embed-code-template.js#SEMANTIC_5704afb8-c10b-4ba5-9cb4-d7fb6098ef90"}}</script><ul><li>Hollywood co-owners arrived in 2021</li><li>Overseen a remarkable journey</li><li>Bigger tests to come for Red Dragons</li></ul>

‘Might have to rename the Racecourse the Ryan Reynolds Course!’ - Wrexham backed to ride promotion wave before ‘reality hits’ & playing field levels in League One

League One

Wrexham

Cambridge U

The Red Dragons <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/inside-wrexham-what-really-like-play-hollywood-owners/blt05546ce51783922f " target="_blank">welcomed Hollywood co-owners Reynolds and Rob McElhenney</a> to North Wales back in the spring of 2021. Quite the journey has been taken in since then – including a trip to Wembley, <a href="https://www.goal.com/en/lists/las-vegas-part-ii-wrexham-pointless-promotion-statement-james-jones-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-sin-city/blt49784690d0d28a59 " target="_blank">record-breaking promotion out of the National League</a> and runs to the fourth round of the FA Cup. In the present, the club are riding high in League Two and have become a team that everybody wants a part of – making them a prized scalp for Football League rivals.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Wrexham star Carlos Edwards, speaking in association with <a href="https://www.olbg.com/ " target="_blank">OLBG</a>, has told GOAL when asked about the challenges of <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-making-clubs-jealous-wrexham-rival-efl-sides-react-incredible-rise/blt79cb580abca3c486 " target="_blank">operating under the brightest of spotlights</a>: “Everyone wants to go there. They might have to rename the Racecourse the Ryan Reynolds Course! Going to Wrexham now is like, ‘it’s Ryan Reynolds, he’s the owner there’. People go there hoping to get a picture with him and not concentrating much on the game. But he’s not going to be there every time. I went to the first game of the season and I didn’t see him. If I did meet him it would be a bonus, but my focus was going to give support and seeing the club – I haven’t been back there for maybe 10 years or more. Being back there for the first game of the season was really special. A lot of clubs go in there now and see a fresh new Racecourse.”

WHAT EDWARDS SAID

Wrexham have grown accustomed to seeing <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/hollywood-clowns-why-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-made-rivals-jealous-wrexham/blt6f8d3cd32d2dc412" target="_blank">opponents raise their game whenever they are in town</a>, or visits are paid to SToK Racecourse, with Edwards adding on Phil Parkinson’s side needing to be on top of their game at all times: “You have to be. That’s what you get paid for. No matter what you do, if you don’t commit 100 per cent then it’s pointless. That’s everyday life. If you go into your job and you’re not bothered, while everyone else is giving 100, what’s the point? You need to have that mindset. I’ve never played a game 100 per cent fit, there are always little niggles, but my mindset was focus on training, on the game and when I get home make sure I’m eating properly, rest and make sure I’m focused. I never used to have a certain routine that I used to do, but I made sure I did what I need to perform. For players not to be switched on, it’s not an excuse. It’s not something that should be in their mind. These guys, the money that they are making, why shouldn’t they be focused 100 per cent.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Red Dragons have continued to find a way of picking up positive results, sweeping aside many of those put in front of them. They may, however, find the going a little tougher when <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/not-impossible-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-dream-can-come-true-phil-parkinson-luton-inspiration-premier-league/blt08d4cdd4f18c0b20 " target="_blank">stepping up into League One</a> – with there some big clubs in that division that also have money to spend and vast experience at their disposal. Asked if the playing field begins to level in the third tier, with bigger tests awaiting, Edwards said: “I think so. Now they are doing really well and I hope that they do get back-to-back promotions – just to give them that test that they really need. At the moment they are quite comfortable in League Two, they aren’t really getting that good test just yet to let them know that ‘right, you’re back in the big league now and you have to step up’. They have made a few good signings to take them to that next level. Until that times come and they understand ‘let’s hope that we can push on’. They are really going to get that test once they get that promotion, and then the reality hits.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Reynolds and McElhenney will <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/do-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-pick-wrexham-team-transfer-signings-phil-parkinson-hollywood-superstars/blt0bcfcc261b10417a" target="_blank">continue to provide all the support they can</a> to ensure that another step up in class does not result in an untimely stumble, with the pair having made stunning contributions to the collective cause on and off the field – with the <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/watch-deadpool-accepts-welcome-to-wrexham-emmy-mr-lively-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-co-owners/blt88ef913da72c6c87 " target="_blank">now Emmy Award-winning</a> ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ <a href="https://www.goal.com/en-gb/lists/welcome-to-wrexham-shut-down-ryan-reynolds-rob-mcelhenney-cameras-disappear-documentary-distraction-paul-mullin/bltc23f50702bf8b1df#cs9b86600aca689aab " target="_blank">documentary series forming part of that project</a>.

WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

‘Might have to rename the Racecourse the Ryan Reynolds Course!’ - Wrexham backed to ride promotion wave before ‘reality hits’ & playing field levels in League One | Goal.com UK

Wrexham’s popularity means they may have to “rename the Racecourse the Ryan Reynolds Course”, but they are about to see the playing field level out.

‘Might have to rename the Racecourse the Ryan Reynolds Course!’ - Wrexham backed to ride promotion wave before ‘reality hits’ &amp; playing field levels in League One