Wrexham have been told Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s “glitz and glamour” must be replicated on the field in order to reach the Premier League.
Article continues below
Article continues below
Article continues below
Famous co-owners calling the shotsHave overseen rise into League OneIntention is to reach English top-flightWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Dragons have made no secret of the fact that they want to see their meteoric rise carry them all the way to the English top-flight. Hollywood co-owners are allowing the Welsh outfit to dream big, with back-to-back promotions already lifting them into League One.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Phil Parkinson’s side have made a positive start to life in the third tier, with 10 points collected from a four-game unbeaten run, and more shrewd recruitment has been overseen in the transfer market. Wrexham are, however, considered to be more dogged than destructive – with that philosophy needing to change at some point if they want to compete with the very best in the business.
WHAT ROBERTSON SAID
Gregor Robertson – who graced the Championship, Leagues One and Two and the National League in his playing days – has told of Wrexham’s present and future ambition: “There’s a lot to like on the pitch. There’s no two ways about that. Three clean sheets in a row against Bolton, Reading and Peterborough… that is hugely impressive, particularly for a promoted team. They’re three of the strongest teams in the league, I think. The thing about it too, is that there is no flashiness on the pitch; they’re an effective team. They had 30% of the ball in this game [against Peterborough], but they had more shots, their xG was higher, they deserved to win the game. [Paul] Mullin came on and could have scored, they had other chances. They’re bringing Mullin and [Steven] Fletcher off the bench, we do have to say that, clearly, they’re a very well-backed team.
“They’re great at set-pieces, absolutely brilliant at set-pieces. For all the glitz and glamour off the pitch, they’re a pretty dogged, kind of effective, gritty team on it and that’s Phil Parkinson’s fingerprints all over. For me, the bigger vision and interesting thing is… they’ll go again, no doubt, it might not be this season, but they will be close, it’s at what point do they want something more on the pitch? It’s all fit brilliantly just now too, because the whole story is about this former mining town, down on its luck and how it’s been reinvigorated and the fight and the passion and the industry on the pitch is mirroring that very well. There will come a point where you will need something more than that to keep progressing, but that is all very far off in the future.”
Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
Wrexham will hope that Premier League football is not too far off, but are also aware that they have made rapid progress in a relatively short space of time. Reynolds and McElhenney have conceded that further investment will be required alongside them in the boardroom if ultimate long-term targets are to be hit.
