Phil Parkinson reveals ‘biggest challenge’ faced with Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney at Wrexham – with Red Dragons now embracing a ‘different’ test after back-to-back promotions

The experienced coach needed talking into a move to SToK Racecourse, as the Red Dragons were a National League outfit when first expressing their interest in 2021. Discussions with the most ambitious of co-chairmen eventually convinced Parkinson to join an exciting project in North Wales.

That faith has been rewarded with back-to-back promotions and a meteoric rise to prominence for Wrexham as a club – helped in no small part by their award-winning documentary series. There have been plenty of hurdles faced along the way, but most of those have been cleared with ease.

Parkinson has told SportsBoom of delivering on expectations: “Getting into Division Two was the biggest challenge. There was a lot of baggage with the club being in the National League for 15 years. There were a lot of near misses, a lot of psychological scarring in and around the club. You could really feel the tension everywhere during that run-in as the season was drawing to a close. Getting into League Two was a breath of fresh air for us. We had an indifferent start for reasons that have been documented, but we got stronger as the season went on.” Now we find ourselves in a competitive division and it’s exciting for us to see how far we can go.”

Wrexham made a flying start to life in League One, hitting the top of the table, but saw their unbeaten run ended last time out in a 3-1 ‘Hollywood derby’ defeat to big-spending Birmingham. Parkinson added on no longer being a club punching below its weight: “There’s expectation on a lot of other clubs this year. The spotlight will be away from us, which is different. In the National League and League Two we were favourites to be promoted. It’s different this year and we’ve got to utilise that to our advantage.

“There are a lot of clubs who have previously been in the Premier League so the division’s probably as strong as it’s ever been. We’re enjoying being a part of that. It’s important we continue to prove we belong on this stage. I truly believe that we can remain competitive. We know there will be ups and downs along the way, but the thing about these lads that put on the Wrexham shirt there’s a real commitment level and that’s what we aim to keep producing each week.”

Wrexham will return to action on Saturday when playing host to Crawley. The ultimate goal for everyone connected with the club is to reach the Premier League, although it has been accepted that more investment and shrewd recruitment will be required in order to rub shoulders with English football’s elite.