Wrexham owners 'deserve' success - Parkinson

Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds were in attendance as Wrexham won 3-0 against Charlton Athletic at the Stok Cae Ras

Phil Parkinson says Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney "deserve" success after the club secured an historic third successive promotion.

The Red Dragons thumped Charlton Athletic 3-0 after Wycombe Wanderers lost 1-0 at Leyton Orient to secure their place in the Championship next season.

And Parkinson lauded Hollywood duo Reynolds and McElhenney, who finalised their takeover of the Stok Cae Ras club in February 2021, for the significant role the have played in guiding Wrexham from the fifth tier to the second tier.

"I think it's about the collective. The owners have come in and done an amazing job," said the Wrexham boss.

"I'm so pleased for them because they deserve it.

"There's lots of ways you can be supportive as owners. It can be making sure we get a key player when it matters the most.

"But it can also be support when the results don't go quite as well as you want them to, but still allowing us to do our jobs.

"That's what they've always done. They're invested in all of the decisions, but they trust us in our decision making and that's why we've had success over the last three years."

Wrexham have won 26 of their 45 League One matches this season

Having already seen Wycombe lose to Leyton Orient, Wrexham knew victory against the Addicks would see them rise into the second tier for the first time in 43 years.

They made a dream start against Nathan Jones' outfit as Ollie Rathbone struck his eighth goal of the campaign to put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute.

Sam Smith doubled Wrexham's lead just three minutes later with a fine volley to guide Matty James' floated ball into the net.

The January signing headed Max Cleworth's cross beyond Will Mannion in the 81st minute to kick-start the celebrations in north Wales as Wrexham clinched runner-up spot behind champions Birmingham City.

Fans poured on to the pitch as referee Ben Toner blew the full-time whistle in north Wales.

Parkinson says he took time to stand in the technical area to savour the celebrations.

"The club's all about the community, I think everyone could see that today," he said.

"Seeing the fans on the pitch at the end means a lot. I was just stood in the technical area savouring it, looking at people enjoying it.

"The area has had an incredible lift with the team's success over the last few years.

"This is for those supporters who followed the team through those 15 years in the National League in really tough times.

"They stood strong behind their club. They deserve tonight."

Wrexham round off a memorable 2024-25 season at Lincoln City on Saturday, 3 May (15:00 BST).

Having sealed promotion, their attention will swiftly turned to preparing for life in the Championship.

Having guided Bolton Wanderers into the second tier in 2017, Parkinson is fully aware of the scale of the task that lies ahead for Wrexham.

"We're going into one of the most competitive leagues in world football, it's going to be a huge challenge," he said.

"We're going to do what we've done this year, sit back, recruit the right players and try to get the squad as strong as we can and enjoy the ride.

"We're going to go into the Championship, tackle it full on and keep representing the club in the way we've done in the last few years."