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Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has lifted the lid on the immense pressure that has come with the club's rapid climb up the leagues. The Welsh club's transformation under Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac has been nothing short of extraordinary, propelling Wrexham from National League obscurity to global recognition.

Parkinson, appointed in July 2021 when the club was still non-league, has overseen an astonishing three straight promotions. Now sitting 10th in the Championship and just three points shy of the play-off spots, he admits the journey hasn't always been straightforward.

The former Sunderland chief revealed that the toughest period came after he missed out on promotion in his first season. The following campaign brought the heaviest burden of expectation as the Red Dragons chased their long-awaited return to the Foot‎ball League.

Wrexham eventually sealed the National League title with a record-breaking 111 points in April 2023 after an epic duel with Notts County. But Parkinson says the stakes were far higher than league position alone, hinting that failure might have jeopardised the owners' long-term ambitions, potentially cutting the hugely popular Welcome to Wrexham documentary short.

Speaking at the Northern Foot‎ball Writers' Association awards, he said: "There has been expectation on us from day one, but I think the pressure was getting out of the National League.

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"That was the big one because if that hadn't happened, with the famous battle with Notts County in that season, then I don't think there would have been another series of the documentary. It would have been very difficult to keep things going. I felt that was the most pressured season."

Parkinson said stepping into League Two allowed the club to finally breathe and by the time they reached League One, they had learned to embrace their new status.

He added: "League Two was great. In League One, I felt we were feeling our way into that division a little bit at the start.

"We played down expectations, which was quite a good thing and went a little bit under the radar, or as much as you can do at Wrexham. I've enjoyed that expectation and you've got to bring players who can handle it as well."

Wrexham's first Championship campaign in 43 years has delivered its own challenges. Parkinson's side got off to a rocky start, losing three of their opening five matches, despite around £33million being spent on new players during the summer.

Following a 3-1 home defeat to QPR in September, a report emerged claiming Reynolds and Mac had discussed the manager's future. The club quickly rubbished the suggestion, with non-executive director Shaun Harvey slamming the speculation as an "absolute disgrace."

Through all the ups and downs, Parkinson's calm leadership has remained central to Wrexham's remarkable momentum. And he sees no reason why the owners' ultimate goal of reaching the Premier League can't be achieved.

He said: "The owners have said about achieving Premier League status one day and some people then perceive that as getting carried away. But I don't think it is, because there are clubs that have gone into the Premier League, been run properly and had a great structure behind the scenes.

"Burnley are a good example of that and other clubs like Luton Town have done it, so there's no reason why we can't. But you don't get there by luck. You get there by having good people working at the football club and a calmness when things go against you."

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