00:00So, Rich, looking at Wrexham AFC and obviously the season so far, it's been quite a fantastic
00:08campaign considering they're brand new to Ligue 1 in terms of this trajectory, how they
00:13carry on building. Obviously, manager Phil Parkinson has hit 1,000 games in management
00:18as well this season, which is quite special. Obviously, a fantastic win record for Wrexham,
00:24but it just shows the sort of feathers they have in their cap with the likes of Parkinson,
00:28the experience he's had throughout the EFL. I mean, in terms of the season and what you
00:34expect from the remainder of it, there's obviously some crunch games coming up, but it's one
00:39of those where, where do you think Wrexham fans are? What are the hopes for the remainder
00:44of this season? Because that playoff race is quite tight. There are some real big contenders
00:50at the very top of the division this year as well.
00:53Yeah, it's one of those where the expectations have changed quite a bit as the season's gone
00:57on really. I think honestly, most Wrexham fans would have just been quite happy with
01:02consolidating mid-table. I think I had them down to finish about 10th or 9th at the start
01:06of the season, just finish out of the playoffs. But now look at where we are at this time
01:12of the season. You've got to still be aiming for automatics really, and playoffs is the
01:17absolute minimum now. I think Wrexham fans would be rightly disgruntled and furious if
01:22they didn't finish in the playoffs, just because the position they're in, the resources they've
01:26got to reinvest in January and the momentum to go and get promoted again.
01:31It's one of those things where if you're going to get out of League One, I get the argument
01:36that maybe you need a few years to build and get adjusted to the league, and that would
01:39probably suit you better if you got to the championship. But in terms of actually getting
01:43out of League One, I don't think Wrexham will ever have a better chance in the next five
01:46years than this season, just because of that momentum, that feel-good factor, the way they're
01:50winning matches. Once you lose that, it's so hard to pick up again. So I think that
01:56Wrexham fans have to be realistic. The promotion place looks really difficult. Birmingham,
02:03just given the resources they have, they're going to come good. You expect them to win
02:05the league at a canter. Huddersfield are then the form team going in for second, and you'd
02:10say Wrexham could still get second, but realistically, you still expect them and Wickham to be third
02:16and fourth this season. So as things go, in dreamland, in absolute dreamland, Wrexham
02:22fans didn't expect another promotion back-to-back-to-back this campaign. So if that happens, it would
02:28be honestly one of the greatest achievements in modern English football and British football.
02:33I know that there's lots of criticism with the money spent, and that certainly helped
02:36at National League and League Two level, but at League One level, the gulf isn't as big,
02:41and they're coming up against so many established teams. And just to do it without the same
02:47core of players who have been there since the National League, with a manager who knows
02:51exactly what he's doing, it would be an incredible achievement if Wrexham got a third successive
02:55promotion.
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