The Hollywood fairytale that is Wrexham AFC is only just beginning, the club’s chief executive said Friday as the Welsh side continued its unlikely quest to crack the English Premier League.

Since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased the Welsh club in 2020, Wrexham have become the first team to earn three successive promotions from England’s national league to the second-tier Championship.

Wrexham will on August 9 play relegated former Premier League club Southampton in their Championship opener, a prospect club chief executive Michael Williamson described as a “pinch yourself” moment. 

Williamson, speaking in Wellington during the club’s preseason tour to Australia and New Zealand, said success was more than simply making up the numbers.

“The expectation is, and Rob McElhenney will say that he doesn’t know what this word is, but obviously we need to consolidate our position in the Championship,” Williamson told AFP.   “If we are able to find ourselves halfway through the season, in December, in that 3-4-5-6-7 position, people should be worried about us. Because I believe if we make the playoffs with the type of mentality that we have, anything can happen in 90 minutes. I really would give ourselves a strong shot of giving it a run.”

The Welsh minnows languished for years in the lower tiers of English football before being purchased by Reynolds and McElhenney, and shooting to fame through the “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary.

They return to the Championship — one step below the Premier League — for the first time in more than 40 years.

The fighting words were echoed by former Wrexham player-turned-club ambassador, Ben Tozer, who was also in New Zealand for the tour.

“It’s a massive challenge, don’t get me wrong,” Tozer said. “But the momentum of our club, four years of pure success and heading in the right direction, winning a lot more games than losing. We could surprise some people.”

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