Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney get ‘head start’ in transfer race as Phil Parkinson admits Wrexham must ‘improve’ squad for League One

The Red Dragons wrapped up a top-three finish in League Two with a couple of games to spare, meaning that they were able to ease past the finishing post in 2023-24. They have also avoided the need to pick up a ticket for the fourth-tier play-off lottery.

That should stand the Welsh outfit in good stead as they draw up recruitment plans for the next window. Parkinson admits that Wrexham must “improve” in order to be competitive in League One, saying of getting over the promotion line: “It gives us a head-start in terms of the recruitment and that is key. It is time to reflect and look at the squad as a whole, and the areas we need to improve. We have got a very good core of players. We worked hard to build a squad which is coming on a journey with us, we felt we had to improve and we will do that again. Obviously we need to improve the squad. As you go up a division, everything improves; athleticism, quality, preparation, everything. There's a lot of hard work to be done over the summer but we will sit down, take our time and make the right decisions to give us a chance to be competitive next season.”

While SToK Racecourse will be welcoming fresh faces through the doors this summer, there will also be departures – with nine players out of contract. Parkinson added: “There is the possibility of players moving on and that is the hard part of any manager's job but we also know we have got to evolve as a club and we will try and do that. Decisions have got to be made and we will do them fairly and honestly.”

Hollywood co-owners Reynolds and McElhenney will be on hand to provide assistance when it comes to squad building, although they have conceded that further investment will be required at some stage in order to keep the Red Dragons competitive in the third tier of English football.