Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson expects 'tough game' - as fan leaves US for first time to watch team play

April 20, 2023

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has said it will be a "tough game" at the weekend to achieve promotion.

If the Red Dragons win then they will secure a place in League Two - the fourth tier of English football.

But if they fail to win, the wait will continue for the North Wales-based team to see whether their promotion dream can be achieved after 15 consecutive seasons in the National League.

"Boreham Wood had a good season themselves. They're in the play-off zone," Parkinson told Sky News.

"We've had some competitive games against them in the last couple of years and expect Saturday to be no different and like every game concentrate on our own performance level and we'll see if that's good enough on the day."

But despite the caution, the fans are looking forward to the crucial fixture.

Michael Starkey is travelling from Alabama to watch Wrexham play on Saturday.

He has always wanted to follow an international football club and when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club he did his research and fell in love with its culture and history.

Afraid of flying, this will be Mr Starkey's first trip out of the US but nothing will stop him from watching Wrexham at the Racecourse.

"I'm very excited to finally be able to talk to those people that I've met and people who have become very good friends of mine over the last one and a half, two years," he told Sky News.

He said he "went down the rabbit hole" after he saw Reynolds and McElhenney were buying the club.

"I watched every YouTube video I could find, I listened to every podcast I could find," he said.

His support of the Reds has grown so much that he says he schedules his life around Wrexham.

"I schedule my work around the matches. People close to me know absolutely don't call, text, to come to my house between 9am and 11am on Saturdays because I'm going to be watching the Wrexham match," he added.

Read more from Sky News:
US stars cheer on Wrexham as they edge closer to promotion
Wrexham football museum gets £5m funding boost
Will Ferrell teases pundits and enjoys pubs on football tour

If Wrexham were to win promotion, Michael says it would be a dream come true.

"It is a storybook ending and if I'm there to see it that's icing on the cake and that's a lifelong memory for me obviously as with the rest of the Wrexham fans."

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