Wrexham continue to impress in League One with Phil Parkinson’s men just outside of the automatic promotion spots after beating Mansfield Town.
Wrexham returned to League One action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Mansfield Town at the STōK Cae Ras.
Phil Parkinson saw Wrexham fall flat in a 1-0 FA Cup defeat to Harrogate Town last week and needed to see a strong reaction.
Wrexham took the lead early on through Ryan Barnett as his low drive found the back of the net.
Mansfield put pressure on Wrexham and hit the bar through Lee Gregory but Wrexham held on for three points.
Nigel Clough fumed at the refereeing on show but Rob McElhenney was able to celebrate a ‘tough’ Wrexham victory.
Darren Bent on Wrexham ‘hate’
The result leaves Wrexham sitting third in the League One table, behind Birmingham City and Wycombe Wanderers.
Wrexham sit two points off an automatic promotion spot and four points behind first place, so Parkinson has Wrexham in a strong position right now.
A third promotion in a row would be a remarkable feat for Wrexham, even with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds running the show.
This club is progressing rapidly and another promotion would be incredible to witness – especially with another season of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ on the way.
Not everybody loves the Wrexham story though and pundit Darren Bent has commented on the ‘hate’ around Wrexham.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (08/11, 6:43pm), Bent suggested that Birmingham City and Wrexham are the two strongest teams in League One – despite Wycombe Wanderers sitting top of the table.
Former England striker Bent feels that other clubs really ‘hate’ Wrexham more than Birmingham, just because of the money and Hollywood involvement around the club.
“I still think Birmingham and Wrexham are the two strongest teams in the division. But do you know what? Birmingham a little bit, but I do think other football clubs hate Wrexham. Because of the money and the whole Hollywood story, people just want to beat them,” said Bent.
Wrexham have been praised by other clubs
We have no doubt that rival fans want to see Wrexham fail; that is just the nature of football supporters, who take some joy from others falling short.
Other clubs actually appear to be pretty positive about Wrexham, McElhenney and Reynolds though.
Rotherham United’s Steve Evans has praised McElhenney and Reynolds as ‘fantastic’ whilst Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver has called Wrexham’s rise ‘exciting’.
Stevenage’s Phil Wallace has praised Wrexham as an ‘incredible marketing machine’ whilst hailing the ‘remarkable’ progress under McElhenney and Reynolds.
There may be some bitterness or jealousy from other fans, but many other clubs do actually appear to be supportive of this Wrexham journey.