The Welsh club's boss tells FourFourTwo why winning the National League will always be special to him
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Phil Parkinson will always treasure the moment when he took Wrexham back into the Football League – revealing that he didn’t want to drink during the celebrations, so that he could remember it all.
Parkinson guided the Welsh side to the National League title last season, taking them back into the EFL for the first time for 15 years, after a 3-1 home win over Boreham Wood sealed promotion for a club owned by Hollywood superstars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
“When we won that match and secured promotion, it was just relief,” Parkinson told FourFourTwo. “From the final whistle to getting home that night, it’s a bit of a blur.
“People say, ‘Did you have a few pints?’ but you don’t need to have a drink – you don’t want to drink, really, because you want to savour it. To get a club of this magnitude and tradition back into the Football League, it was so special.
“When I spoke to Rob and Ryan, they were just so delighted – all of us had put a lot of work in. Every game, every signing, everything we do at the club, so much work has gone in. I know it was really special for them, with the photos on the pitch after the game, then the open-top bus parade a week later.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“They’re moments that some players and managers go their whole career without experiencing. Some owners, too: there are loads of owners who have bought clubs and never experienced that.
“The sheer euphoria and relief around Wrexham was unbelievable. Even on the Monday night after the Boreham Wood game, I went into a pub in Wrexham and it was packed full of Wrexham fans, still celebrating promotion.
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“When the open-top bus parade happened, it’s difficult to explain how I felt. Every club means a lot to its supporters, we know that, but Wrexham had been 15 years out of the Football League, and the club had struggled financially during that period.
“Because of that journey, you could sense there was this massive release of tension. You could feel it. Wow, it makes me almost emotional to think about it now, several months later.”
Chris joined FourFourTwo in 2015 and has reported from more than 20 countries, in places as varied as Ivory Coast and the Arctic Circle. He's interviewed Pele, Zlatan and Santa Claus (it's a long story), as well as covering the World Cup, AFCON and the Clasico. He previously spent 10 years as a newspaper journalist, and completed the 92 in 2017.
