Rob McElhenney makes feelings on Phil Parkinson's half-time Wrexham talks clear

14 January 2024 , 12:13

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Rob McElhenney makes feelings on Phil Parkinson's half-time Wrexham talks clear

Hollywood co-owner Rob McElhenney heaped praise on manager Phil Parkinson’s impact at half-time after Wrexham scored twice in the second half to move into the League Two automatic promotion places.

Back in November 2020, McElhenney - famed for creating and starring in ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ - teamed with Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds to purchase Wrexham for £2.25m. The duo have become symbols of Welsh football around the world thanks to the exposure their platforms have bought to the club and area, largely though the popular Disney+ documentary titled ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.

After 15 years outside the football league, the Red Dragons secured the National League title last season to clinch promotion to League Two. Wrexham currently sit second in the fourth tier, occupying an automatic promotion spot while they will face Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup fourth round.

READ MORE: Paul Mullin 'rightly' apologised to James McClean during Wrexham win over AFC Wimbledon

McElhenney and Reynolds’ club have impressed during the 2023/24 season, and continued their remarkable promotion push with a 2-0 win over AFC Wimbledon at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday. With the score goalless at half-time, Wrexham manager Paul Parkinson clearly said the right things to inspire his players as goals from Steven Fletcher and Paul Mullin secured the three points.

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The result left McElhenney delighted, as he posted on X after the game to ensure Parkinson received due credit for the turnaround in performance. He wrote:: “If we could bottle up and sell what Phil says to these players at halftime we’d be billionaires.”

While Wimbledon were perhaps the better team in the first half, Fletcher opened the scoring midway through the second half with a volley at the far post before Mullin turned in a James McClean cross. The second half performance ensured Wrexham moved up to second place following Manfield’s 1-1 draw at Morecambe while other teams around them also dropped points - and Parkinson was thrilled.

Phil Parkinson took Wrexham back to the Football League after a 15-year absence (PA)

“I thought we lacked urgency in the first half,” Parkinson reflected after the game. “It was almost a feeling of this will just take care of itself, but everybody knows in football you have got to make it happen as a team.

“We didn't quite get our press right and we have to work on that, but we worked hard enough to make sure it was 0-0 at half-time. Then second half I thought we responded really well. Sometimes when you are not at your fluent best, a set-play changes the flow of the game.

“It was a hard game, we knew it would be. We had to work hard today. We said it half-time we needed to up our game in certain areas and when we did that, it looked like we were the team who could go on and win the game.”

Wrexham make the trip to Newport County next weekend in an all-Welsh clash. The Red Dragons could go top of League Two above Stockport with a victory.

Andrew Gamble