It's Always Sunny in Wrexham! Paul Mullin contract renewal, huge FA Cup win and excellent League Two form suggests Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' promotion dream is set to come true this season

Back in April 2008, Wrexham travelled to Shrewsbury with their Football League status hanging by a thread. It didn't go well, with their bitter cross-border rivals taking a seventh-minute lead and going on to win 3-0.

Brian Little's side never recovered from this demoralising defeat, and a few days later their relegation into non-league was confirmed following a 2-0 defeat to Hereford. The demotion kicked off a grim decade of underperformance in the fifth tier, with the cycle only being broken when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their Hollywood takeover of the club in 2021.

The pain of the Shrewsbury defeat still stings for Wrexham fans of a certain generation, though. Or at least it did, until Phil Parkinson's side buried those demons in the FA Cup.

And, heading into the game, the Wrexham players were left with no illusions about how important this clash was to the supporters. "I wanted to give them an understanding - just in case some didn’t grasp the history. We went into why it is a derby. Obviously, there’s the location, but there’s also the England-Wales factor with both teams not being far off the border," Parkinson said after the contest.

"We spoke a lot about what happened that day (in 2008)," midfielder George Evans added. "And how it ended in Wrexham getting relegated. It obviously took a while for the club to come back up, so for a lot of fans it was important we got the win today. You could see with the atmosphere how big this game was. That’s why we are delighted to get the win. The manager’s words definitely gave us extra motivation."

The game itself was a feisty affair, with plenty of full-blooded tackles and physicality. In truth, Wrexham were on the back foot for large portions, with Arsenal loanee Arthur Okonkwo making several good saves and Salop hitting the bar in the second half, but Thomas O'Connor's deflected effort would eventually settle the tie 18 minutes from time.

Elliot Lee found time to fire one more parting shot at his side's old rivals at full-time, responding to Shrewsbury defender Tom Flanagan "semi-pro" jibe in his post-match interview.

"It was a great performance and I’d like to dedicate that to one of their players, Tom Flanagan, who said we were full of semi-pro players last year. So that one’s for you mate!" he said.

After securing their long-awaited win over Shrewsbury, Wrexham's attention turned to the fourth-round draw on Monday evening. Ahead of the balls being plucked out, Parkinson revealed his desire to be pitted against "a big team" at home. He added: "I just think that the atmosphere at The Racecourse, particularly now we have got the temporary stand up, is fantastic."

Unfortunately, Parkinson did not get his wish, but Wrexham's travelling supporters will still be buzzing about their trip to Ewood Park to face Championship Blackburn Rovers later this month. Not only does the game give the team a chance to test themselves against one of the giants of English football, Blackburn are also likely to hand the Red Dragons a huge ticket allocation for the clash - which will surely also be televised.

"I have seen some of the away followings there this year and Blackburn always give the away team a great allocation of tickets. It gives us an opportunity to take a large travelling army with us, which always gives a special FA Cup feel to it," Parkinson said.

The glamour FA Cup tie is just the latest thing for Wrexham to celebrate in what has been a positive few weeks for the club. December is a notoriously challenging period in the lower leagues. The pitches get heavier, injuries rack up and English football's love affair with festive football makes the fixture list especially congested.

Overall, Wrexham took in six fixtures in December, as well as a tricky test against Barrow on January 1. During this run, they won every game aside from their EFL Trophy tie with Burton Albion - a competition the club weren't prioritising - and a league clash against Walsall.

The latter result was disappointing, but if you'd had offered Parkinson 12 points and a place in the FA Cup fourth round at the beginning of this run, he no doubt would've taken it.

Things are looking up off the pitch, too. The club's new temporary stand is now operational, meaning that 2,000 more supporters will be cheering the team on during the second half of the season during home matches.

While things are looking good in the short-term, Wrexham have also recently taken steps to ensure their success moving forward. In the early hours of New Year's Day, the club confirmed the massive news that Mullin and Lee had both signed fresh, long-term contracts.

"Since signing for the club, I’ve loved every single second," Mullin beamed. "It’s not just become my club, but my whole family also. The chance to perform in front of the support we receive is something you long for as a child. Here’s to creating more memories to last a lifetime – up the town!"

Lee added: "It means a lot. When I signed 18 months ago, there were high expectations, but not I even saw just how well it was going to go. I’m delighted to be extending my stay with Wrexham. It’s a special feeling playing for the club. Growing up, it was Newcastle and West Ham I had an affinity too and wanted to play for, but I feel I have that now with Wrexham. To represent the team, the badge and the people of Wrexham is a special feeling – I love playing playing for the club."

The star duo's deals now do not expire until 2027, which is quite the financial commitment for a fourth-tier side. However, it's hard to argue that the pair have not earned the show of faith. At this point, Mullin needs little introduction, with his unbelievable scoring exploits earning famous friends and bags of plaudits.

But Lee has been even more important for Parkinson's side this season. With Mullin missing the start of the campaign after suffering a punctured lung in a pre-season clash against Manchester United, the midfielder has been forced to step up his efforts in front of goal - and he has now netted 13 times this season.

Tying down these priceless assets, who quite clearly love the club, for another three years is very smart business. It will be fascinating to see just how high Mullin and Lee make it up the leagues before the partnership ends.

The off-field activity is only just beginning, too. As well as marking two important contract renewals, the start of 2024 also saw the transfer window swing open once again. Last campaign, mid-season recruitment was an important factor in Wrexham's promotion, with Andy Cannon, Eoghan O'Connell and Ryan Barnett all arriving during that time to aid the title push.

This time around, according to The Athletic, there's one key area that Parkinson is looking to bolster: centre-back. It's easy to see why. While Wrexham have had no issue with goals this season (only Notts County and Stockport have scored more than them in League Two), but defending their own net has been more challenging.

So far they have conceded 36 times, which is comfortably worse than promotion rivals Stockport, Mansfield and Barrow. Injuries have played their part in this, with Evans and O'Connor both having to fill in when their talents are likely better utilised in midfield.

Transfer rumours have been few and far between so far, with Parkinson giving little away when asked which players Wrexham could be after. "I don't want to make any predictions for January," he said recently. "We've got a strong squad but we're always looking. As our supporters know, we're always striving to improve and we're assessing a lot of situations at the moment, but we are keeping our cards close to our chest."

There's also been some discussion about Wrexham strengthening up front, with Ollie Palmer currently sidelined with injury. In this case, there have been some murmurings, with Peterborough's Jonson Clarke-Harris and Cliftonville's Ronan Hale both linked in recent days.

However, as their mad dash at the end of the summer window suggested, the Red Dragons are unlikely to be rushed into action. They know they can offer the best financial packages in the division, and opportunities can often present themselves in the latter stages of the month.

Provided winter recruitment is good, and their recent record suggests it will be, it would take a brave person to bet against Parkinson's side securing one of the three automatic promotion spots this season. This is the current state of play at the top of a congested League Two table as we head into the business end of the season:

The Red Dragons' progression into the FA Cup fourth round means they will soon be lumbered with another game in hand, but there are several things that suggest they will be able to finish the season particularly strongly.

For instance, as they showed last season by triumphing over Notts County in a tense National League title race, the squad's mentality is perfectly suited to the pressure that comes at the end of a campaign.

There is also a feeling that their star man Mullin is yet to truly hit his scoring peak for 2023-24. Having to get up to full fitness during competitive games is never an easy task, and the 29-year-old's current return of 11 goals is a far cry from the insane figures he managed during the two seasons prior. Five goals in his last six games, though, shows he's just about back up to speed now, which should strike fear into even the firmest of League Two defences.

There is also another source of motivation that may assist in getting them over the line too; the fact that they are quickly losing support of neutrals. This is far more pronounced in the United Kingdom than in the U.S., where the 'Welcome to Wrexham' docuseries continues to be a smash hit, but it's difficult to ignore how Reynolds and McElhenney do not have much goodwill left in certain quarters.

In the UK, social media is awash with accounts objecting to the inflated coverage the Red Dragons receive compared to other clubs. And the backlash turned up a notch when the Wrexham X account captioned the video of Mullin fist pumping towards the crowd on Sunday: "Winning on Shrewsbury's big day out."

"You can buy your way up the leagues, but you can't buy class. Give me clubs like Shrewsbury every day of the week," one post, which has attracted almost 8,000 likes, read. Another, liked nearly 7,000 times, said: "The day the hollywood [sic] money pulls out for whatever reason, and the day they're back scraping 16th in the National League will be a fabulous day."

Will Parkinson and Co care about not being universally adored? Absolutely not. Similar criticism has been aimed in Wrexham's direction ever since Reynolds and McElhenney took control of the club, which the players have simply used a rocket fuel for their promotion push. And they're looking good to do so again this season.