Phil Parkinson has explained how the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series impacts transfer decisions for himself, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
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Red Dragons have bounced up into League OneBusy readying themselves for the third tierNeed recruits that can handle life in the spotlightGetty/GOALWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Dragons are operating under the brightest of spotlights despite only hauling themselves back onto the third rung of the English Football League ladder in 2024. Back-to-back promotions have lifted them to that point, with Hollywood co-owners helping to make dreams come true in North Wales.
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Wrexham do, however, find themselves in a rather unique situation – with there so much to be taken into account when joining the club – and Parkinson has told of the issues that he has to address when bringing in new players: “There are a couple of situations in play at Wrexham. One is learning to deal with all the extra exposure in terms of the documentary and profile of the club. Two is not getting carried away with that and affecting the performance level and the professionalism during the week and on a Saturday. I think that’s key to identifying the players who are going to embrace that and say ‘Yes, I want to be a part of that’ but equally understand Wrexham is a working class town and that’s what we represent. I’m very pleased over the last few years you can really count the performances on one hand where you could say we didn’t turn up. Normally when the lads pull on the Wrexham shirts there’s a full out, committed performance from us. That’s the balance we’ve got to strike in the new players. You’ve got to have a certain courage to play in front of a full house every week and going away from home everywhere is a full house, shoulders back ‘Yeah I’m a good player, I want to be part of this’ but equally remaining humble at the same time.”
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Parkinson has grown accustomed to working in front of the cameras at Wrexham, while his vast experience means that pressure does not hit as hard as it may do for some of his coaching rivals. He added on working at SToK Racecourse: “Expectation? Since I’ve been at Wrexham I just think you deal with that by having good people with you, a great relationship with the people that own the club. Rob and Ryan, Shaun Harvey and people like that who are great and people who work with me as well. We’re a team – we work as a team. The strength of that helps you through difficult periods.”
WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?
The third series of Welcome to Wrexham is currently in the process of being rolled out, as the Red Dragons booked return tickets to League One for the first time in 20 years, and there promises to be more drama to come as the most ambitious of outfits takes aim at an ultimate Premier League end goal.