The battle for League One promotion heated up when Wrexham hosted Charlton Athletic on Saturday.
Wrexham kicked off the weekend aiming to secure a place in the Championship for the 2025/26 season.
Rob McElhenney commented ahead of Charlton Athletic, playing down his and the player’s nerves going into the mammoth fixture.
Ryan Reynolds’ wife sent a message to the Wrexham players as well ahead of kick-off at the Racecourse Ground.
While there was much optimism regarding League One promotion going into the weekend, beating an in-form Charlton Athletic was expected to be tough.
When all was said and done, Wrexham beat Charlton 3-0. Here are five things we learned.
No farewell at the Racecourse for Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin
The futures of Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin are seemingly uncertain going into the summer transfer window.
Neither player has featured since January 28 versus Stevenage and were once again left out on Saturday.
Wrexham’s final league match of 2024/25 comes away from home, meaning there will be no farewell for the duo at the Racecourse should they indeed leave in the summer after automatic promotion is secured.
Jay Rodriguez is going nowhere
Wrexham fans have slammed Jay Rodriguez on multiple occasions since his January arrival from Burnley.
But Parkinson praised Rodriguez earlier this week and once again gave him the nod over Jack Marriott, Steven Fletcher and the aforementioned duo on Saturday.
The striker has another year left on his deal, and it looks as though he remains a favourite of Parkinson’s.
Ollie Rathbone was a superb signing
Wrexham took the lead after just 15 minutes of action and it was star man Ollie Rathbone who opened the scoring with a thunderous strike.
Rathbone arrived from Rotherham United in the summer for somewhere around the £500,000 mark.
He didn’t break straight into the team but when did, the Englishman quickly cemented himself as key figure.
Rathbone has scored so many key goals and provided crucial assists this term. He’s most certainly Wrexham’s signing of the season and maybe even their player of 2024/25.
Sam Smith arrival was key to promotion
Wrexham had a rough patch earlier in the season when their forwards just weren’t scoring enough goals.
In turn, they broke their transfer record for Sam Smith, spending over £1m on the former Reading man.
He scored Wrexham’s second of the day, taking his tally to six in a Wrexham shirt in less than half a season. Without his efforts, the Red Dragons may not be where they are now.
Wrexham long wait for second-tier football ends
Wrexham are now set to ply their trade in the Championship for the first time ever.
The second tier was rebranded in the early 2000s, with the Welsh outfit never featuring in this version of the competition.
Wrexham have not played in the second tier of English football since 1982.