- Hollywood co-owners arranged American trip
- Faced the likes of Chelsea and Man Utd
- Preparing for start of League Two campaign
WHAT HAPPENED? While in the U.S., the Dragons enjoyed glamour friendly dates against Chelsea, Manchester United, LA Galaxy II and Philadelphia Union II. They took two wins, a draw and defeat from said outings, with Phil Parkinson’s side readying themselves for the start of the 2023-24 campaign. Wrexham are, with Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney calling the shots, leaving nothing to chance when it comes to the pursuit of positive results and put in several months of preparatory work before jetting to the States.
WHAT THEY SAID: On that process, Kevin Mulholland – Wrexham’s head of performance, medicine and sports science – told The Athletic: “Discussions as to how best to approach the trip started around February-March time. We looked at a lot of things, in terms of our preparation and how we would execute things once in the U.S. – nutrition, hydration and recovery were among those along with what difference flight times can make and the hotels. We also enlisted the help of a top sleep professional. We discussed sleeping strategies, plus when the players should sleep on a plane and for how long. Everything we could to help the players.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wrexham flew around 13,000 miles and took in two lengthy road trips during their trip to America – with the entire country covered from New York to Los Angeles – and no stone will be left unturned in a bid to ensure that they are in peak condition for the start of life back in the Football League.
Mulholland added, with the Dragons having overhauled the medical side of their pre and post-game routines: “We have only really started rolling this out with the players this season. Moving forward, we will be looking into the mattresses they have, how their rooms are set up, the air quality. Even down to what they do with their children before going to bed. And how they mentally switch off at night. It is important to remember that everyone is different with things like jet lag. Some may feel great and want to come in Tuesday. That is an option to them. Wednesday, though, is start-up day, when we will do a full MOT on the players. We hope to have them all in a good place come the MK Dons game.”
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WHAT NEXT? Wrexham, who claimed the National League title in record-breaking style last season, are due to kick-off their League Two campaign at home to MK Dons on August 5.