'He's a machine' - Phil Parkinson hails James McClean after Wrexham star shines for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's side against Birmingham a matter of hours after horror car crash

The former Republic of Ireland international was fortunate to walk away from a horror crash relatively unscathed, with only minor injuries being suffered. He was expected to sit out a ‘Hollywood Derby’ date at SToK Racecourse after being seriously shaken up.

McClean was, however, to declare himself fit for duty and led Wrexham out as captain against Birmingham just 36 hours after experiencing a scary incident in his private life. Unsurprisingly, the mercurial 35-year-old put in an energetic performance that helped the Red Dragons to a 1-1 draw with fellow promotion hopefuls.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson told reporters afterwards: “Tonight typified Jimmy. At 9am, we get a call to say he’s been involved in an accident and he can’t leave the scene of the incident until the police arrive. He then needs medical assistance, has to go in and see the club doctor. We’re writing him off at this stage (in terms of playing in the Birmingham game).

“But then, halfway through the team meeting at the training ground, he walks in with his boots over his shoulder and says, ‘I’ll be fine’. Jim even trained on Wednesday as normal. Mad, really. But that’s just typical of Jim. There’s no dramas with him.”

Parkinson went on to say of his skipper: “You need players who thrive in big games. Jim certainly did that against Birmingham. That cross he put in for [Steven] Fletcher near the end… wow, that was just such high quality. The defender (Ben Davies) did brilliantly to nick it off Fletcher’s head. Fletch was just about to head that in.

“Football doesn’t change, you need strong characters in the dressing room if you’re to be a top team. Jim is so tough. A couple of weeks ago, he had a scan on his hamstring. There was a split in the tendon, which could easily have ruled him out for weeks. But we had a meeting with him, me and Kev Mulholland (Wrexham’s head of medicine). The risk was explained to him, but Jim just said, ‘That’s fine. I just want to keep training and playing’. He’s a machine - exactly what you want from your captain.”

McClean helped Wrexham to promotion out of League Two in his debut campaign with the club. He is now looking to take another step up the EFL ladder, with more drama being delivered for Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s award-winning documentary series.