Ben Foster may not have been at the club for a long time, but he was crucial in the short time he was at Wrexham, helping them earn promotion from the National League.
The former Manchester United goalkeeper would retire during the next season in League Two; however, this would only be part of the journey, as the Red Dragons achieved an unprecedented three consecutive promotions to the Championship.
While there will be many football fans of rival clubs pointing at the investment from Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac in signings being key, like with Wrexham’s £33 million spend this summer, this investment also targeted other key areas.
This allowed Phil Parkinson to guide them through the divisions, with Ben Foster identifying one key area that the club invested in that proved successful.
Ben Foster believes the investment in the medical team was key at Wrexham
Ben Tozer and Ben Foster were speaking with Kev Mulholland, Head of Performance & Sports Science at Wrexham, on That Wrexham Podcast, with the focus being on the important work done by the medical team at the club.
The trio shared some stories from their time together at the club, with Mulholland having to deal with some injuries to the former Wrexham stars; however, a noticeable point Foster made was about the facilities the club had and the shock he felt at the time with it being for a National League side and the quick transition to fantastic facilities.
Tozer said: “Just watch back; watch the documentary about that first episode or second episode. Horrific, isn’t it? I couldn’t believe it. Even the gym, like, the gym had carpet.
“Look at it now. To be fair, that comes from, I think that comes from you setting them standards and wanting more and driving the standards.”
Foster said: “In fact, even when I signed, I remember signing, and like, we went in the medical room, and don’t get me wrong, we’re kind of like, just about to get promoted. So, it’s been going a little while already now, but there are facilities in that little room anyway.
“You had all the cryo stuff, you had the ice machines, you had all the Game Readies, the gym was unbelievable. I was thinking, do you know what? Like, I’ve seen Championship teams that haven’t got this kind of stuff, you know, really, really good, really impressive from the get-go.”
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Standards driven by Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac
Kev Mulholland was quick to give credit to the owners of Wrexham for their backing to get the facilities up to standard with the ambition of being a Premier League-standard team, and that requires top-of-the-range equipment in every department.
This will have allowed the medical team to use their knowledge and experience to prepare the team properly and help them through their recovery, with this going a long way in explaining how they were able to rise through the divisions.
As if you can keep your squad fit for the majority of the season and in the best possible shape, then you have every chance of achieving your goals, which Wrexham have done time and time again since the new ownership took over.