Andy Morrell believes that Wrexham could have it in them to gain promotion to the Championship this season.
The 49-year-old, who initially played with the North Wales side between 1998 and 2003 before returning as a player-manager between 2010 and 2014, has high hopes for the Red Dragons as they reap the sown seeds of success in League One. But it isn’t too long ago that Wrexham were confined to the National League with no hopes of promotion in sight.
Wrexham were relegated to the old Conference at the end of the 2007/08 campaign following a horror rock-bottom finish in League Two with just 40 points. And through club turmoil under the ownership of Alex Hamilton, which even saw administration at one point, there looked to be no hope for Wrexham to work their way back into the EFL.
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The Wrexham Supporters Trust wrestled the club back from Hamilton in 2011, however, with a lack of funding, they were unable to make much of a mark on the side in their near decade-long reign. However, after Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased the club in November 2020 for around £2million, the tide started to turn for Wrexham AFC.
After just three years in charge, Reynolds and McElhenney witnessed their club win the National League outright in the 2022/23 campaign – losing just three of their league 46 games to accrue 111 points and gain promotion to League Two for the first time in 15 years.
And Wrexham also hit the ground running in their first season back in League Two, finishing second after another 46 league games behind Stockport County in April this year. While many football fans worldwide will question if Wrexham can secure back-to-back-to -back promotions at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, Morrell is convinced that they certainly have what it takes.
(Image: Daily Post Wales)
(Image: Getty Images)
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, he said: “I thought that if they were tenth this year that the club would have been pleased with that. Obviously you want to get up and get out of every league that you start, but I think that you had to be realistic.
“They had the best players in the previous two divisions, and it was just putting it together to see if they could win games – and they’ve done that. Now, they’re not the biggest fish anymore, the likes of Birmingham, Huddersfield, Bolton, Charlton – there’s some really big clubs in there – and so I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult to really penetrate that top six and get out of the league.
“But after watching the first three games – they’ve had a brilliant pre-season, they really learned from last year’s pre-season that wasn’t so good for the players – and they’ve hit the ground running. They look fit, the look sharp, and there’s only one player who’s played in the starting 11 that was different to how they finished last season.”
Speaking on manager Phil Parkinson’s relationship with his players, Morrell added: “He’s given the chance to the players that got them there, to earn their stripes in this league. They know that they’ve invested well. They’ve got good players come in, the squad is ridiculously strong, it’s just can they maintain it?
(Image: Getty Images)
“You know, you take momentum from winning games from the previous years and they’re certainly on that crest at the moment. We’ll just have to enjoy the ride and see where it can take them, but from what I’ve seen – I mean, they played Reading on Saturday and they were really good even though they only had 35 per cent of the ball, they just looked really strong and they looked comfortable and I think that they’ve got a chance. A better chance than I thought before a ball was kicked, if you like.”
At the time of writing, Wrexham remain unbeaten in League One thus far. They achieved a 3-2 victory over Wycombe Wanderers in their seasonal opener thanks to goals from Max Cleworth, Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher, before taking a point from a goalless draw with Bolton.
They put Reading to the sword with a 3-0 victory at the Racecourse Ground over the weekend, and will be hoping to build on their momentum as they travel to Peterborough on Saturday (August 31).
Morrell, meanwhile, has kept himself incredibly busy since parting ways with Wrexham in 2014.
He is currently gearing up for September 7th’s Ride Across Britain which will see him ride 980 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats over the course of nine days. Speaking about the event, Morrell said: “One of my friends decided to do this so I jumped on with him and thought it was a good idea six months ago.
“And the closer you get it’s a little bit harder than you thought.” He added that he even rode from his home in Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Wrexham to watch the Red Dragons play in their first game of the League One campaign with Wycombe Wanderers earlier this month.
Andy Morrell is completing the Ride Across Britain to raise money for the PWSA which assists the families of people living with Prader-Willi Syndrome. You can find out more about the cause and donate here.