'People don't like that' - Wrexham director explains why club's popularity has taken a hit despite promotion success under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney

Wrexham have rocketed to worldwide fame since Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's takeover of the club. The success of Disney+ documentary series Welcome To Wrexham has helped the Red Dragons attract fans from around the world.

Their rise from the fifth-tier of English football to League One with incredible back-to-back promotions has backfired on the Welsh team, Harvey says, as the director feels football fans in England no longer have an affinity for them.

"Wrexham was the underdog in the UK when we started, but not necessarily because we were the poorest club," Harvey said at a supporters' event in New York. "We weren’t since Rob and Ryan came in, but the town of Wrexham was the underdog. It had been downtrodden for 15 years in terms of its football and industries had left the town. It was in despair and people wanted to get out and not get in. “We got to this position where we could be everybody's favourite second team, because nobody saw Wrexham as a challenge.

"It was acceptable all of a sudden to be a Wrexham fan, as well as being a Manchester United fan, or a Liverpool fan, or any other club that you wanted to support. That positioning actually made us universally popular. Now, how popular we are is waning in certain places in the UK. We've gone from being this plucky little underdog, to all of a sudden we're a threat, and people don't like that as much."

Phil Parkinson's team are aiming for a third consecutive promotion to the Championship this season. They are currently third in League One and four points behind Wycombe, who have a game in hand.