- Dragons in the States for pre-season
- Preparing for return to Football League
- Ready to face Premier League giants
WHAT HAPPENED? The Dragons – fresh from promotion back into the Football League last season – are currently in the United States as part of their pre-season programme. Co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have helped to raise the club's profile to the point that meetings with top-flight heavyweights no longer feel out of the ordinary. Wrexham have already faced Chelsea while in America and Parkinson is looking forward to what promises to be another intriguing, if somewhat testing clash with the Red Devils.
WHAT THEY SAID: Parkinson has told the club’s official website of the benefits that can be found in a meeting with one of the most decorated sides on the planet: “Manchester United will dominate possession as they are a fantastic team. Even if they won’t be playing their main team, their periphery players are outstanding and are internationals. It will be a great exercise for us in working out of possession and being disciplined. We’re playing against a good team and need to be at our best. I think the balance for us is getting minutes in as many of the players as possible. Other players will start the game, as we need to make sure that as many get back ready for the season as close to peak fitness as possible.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wrexham will be hoping to fare better against United than they did in their 5-0 defeat to Chelsea, but they are back in the winning habit after easing to a 4-0 victory over LA Galaxy II last time out.
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WHAT NEXT? The sole purpose of pre-season is to get valuable game time into players before the real business of competitive action begins, with Wrexham reading little into the results they collect in America. They are, however, eager to impress an ever-growing fan base while proving that the ultimate goal of one day reaching the Premier League may not be a pipe dream in North Wales.