Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson sees no reason club cannot reach Premier League

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson sees no reason why the club cannot reach the Premier League after Luton blazed a trail from non-league to the top tier.

The Welsh side have become one of the most talked about teams in world football since being taken over by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney two years ago.

The ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ series has captured the imagination of many, raising the profile of a club that is currently touring the United States fresh from winning the National League.

Reynolds and McElhenney have made no secret of the dream to go all the way up to the Premier League one day – lofty ambitions that boss Parkinson does not believe are unrealistic.

“I think that when you look at teams like Luton who go up, you’ve got to say why not?” he said after the Hatters last season completed a fairy-tale rise from non-league to top-flight in nine years.

“You have because Luton were in this position, so I don’t think it’s a case of us getting carried away with it as ourselves.

“I think if you understand that you need to build a club properly, put the foundations in place like a Luton Town have done, then why can’t Wrexham emulate them one day?

“So, it really isn’t a case of us getting carried away with ourselves.

“You know, Bournemouth years ago under Eddie Howe were on the brink of going out of business and have gone in the Premiership.

“Blackpool have been in the Premiership. There’s lots of examples, so, yeah, why not Wrexham?

“But of course at the moment we’re concentrating on the start of this season.”

Football League exile

Wrexham ended their 15-year absence from the English Football League by pipping Notts County to the National League title in a nail-biting race.

Preparations for their first game at home to MK Dons in League Two on August 5 continue Stateside, where they lost 5-0 to Chelsea in front of more than 50,000 fans in North Carolina.

Wrexham then won 4-0 against LA Galaxy II and round off their US tour against Philadelphia Union II on Friday as McElhenney gets to see his club play in his hometown.

But first comes a marquee friendly against Manchester United’s Under-21 side in San Diego at a sold-out Snapdragon Stadium.

“Rob’s here, Ryan’s not – he’s filming in England,” Parkinson said ahead of Tuesday’s friendly.

“For the area (of Wrexham), the positivity is incredible and the way that the success of the football club and the profile of the club has raised, the spirits in Wrexham, has been great to be a part of that.

“Long may that continue because a team which is winning lifts an area and obviously, more importantly, Rob and Ryan what they’re doing in terms of putting things in place for the structure of the club going forward is equally as important as winning games of football on a Saturday afternoon.

“We all want to be part of success, but also want to be part of building a football club, which is strong for many years to come.”