'Winning themselves out of a job' - Rob McElhenney reacts to 'brutal' cost of promotion as Hollywood co-owner chases Premier League dream with Ryan Reynolds

The Red Dragons have seen their meteoric rise continue in 2025. A third successive promotion has the Welsh outfit heading into the Championship. They have come a long way in a short space of time.

A number of stars at SToK Racecourse, including fan favourites Paul Mullin and Elliot Lee, have formed part of a historic rise through the EFL ranks. Inevitably, though, each step up the ladder requires a freshening up of Phil Parkinson’s squad.

As new signings are brought in, with transfer records being smashed, familiar faces are forced to move on. McElhenney, alongside fellow Hollywood chairman Ryan Reynolds, admits to finding the more personal aspects of football ownership difficult.

McElhenney told the Men In Blazers podcast: "It’s brutal. That system of promotion and relegation, there is a tragic flaw in that. Which is that, very often, the players who are helping you, the club, achieve that goal and winning, are winning themselves out of a job.

"That is tragic. They are giving everything they can to help you win and then their reward for that is to be let go as someone else takes their place. We are very cognisant of that.

"We have players - Andy Cannon has been promoted four years in a row. He went to Stockport, then he came to us, and then us three years in a row. Then, George Dobson has played every single year of his career - which is 10 years - in League One and has never been promoted. This is the first time that he has been promoted.

"Then we have got so many players, countless players, who have been promoted off of teams and then dropped down or remained in the league that they were in and just got out of it and have to fight their way back out again.

"We have so much compassion for the guys that have put so much of themselves into this. That’s why I want to stay present, mostly, I want to make sure they feel regardless of what happens in the off season - because another thing that is brutal, but I understand why, is how quickly Phil, and every team, makes these decisions. Very quickly.

"It’s quite humane because it gives people time to go and find other clubs, but we come back from Vegas and I think within a couple of weeks Phil will have made those calls and spoken to those guys and released however many he’s talking about releasing. That is just brutal."

Wrexham’s playing squad are currently in Las Vegas, alongside McElhenney, enjoying another all-expenses-paid party in Sin City. Parkinson and his coaching team have been to Dubai, with talks regarding squad building set to intensify once everyone is back in the UK.