‘Forget the clamour of Hollywood’ – How Wrexham stay true to roots amid global appeal of Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney

That is the opinion of club director Shaun Harvey, who is delighted to see local supporters continuing to buy into a project that has seen its reach expand a long way outside of North Wales. With Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney on board as Hollywood co-owners, a window to the world has opened up for Wrexham.

The Red Dragons regularly welcome international visitors through the doors at SToK Racecourse, but midweek cup games tend to be reserved for the most loyal and passionate followers. There are plenty of those, with the Red Dragons selling out their allocation at Ewood Park for a fourth-round clash with Championship side Blackburn.

Harvey has said of Wrexham being much more than two famous co-chairmen: “The fact that Blackburn is one of the few clubs that has a significant allocation for visiting fans and the thought of being part of 7,000 Wrexham fans on the road, I think people are more concerned about losing that and what that would mean than they are about playing on a Monday night. It is an opportunity to show the level of support there is for the club and from the club's perspective, to show that 7,000 locals are still turning up to watch the game despite the world-wide clamour there is around the club.

"It does prove the point that the club has not lost its root in the local community. We don't have to prove it to anybody here but anybody who is looking on and has questioned it, the answer is there. It will be a tremendous turnout and of that 7,000, the mass majority would have come from the greater Wrexham area. It says to everyone forget the clamour of Hollywood, actually the people coming through the turnstiles that are benefiting from this whole experience are locals.”

Wrexham suffered FA Cup heartache against Championship opposition last season, coming unstuck in a replay with Premier League-bound Sheffield United. Phil Parkinson's side will be eager to avoid suffering a similar fate when they make the journey north to Lancashire on Monday.