Wrexham fans must wait a few more weeks to see Phil Parkinson’s side in action again, but other friendlies are taking place right now.
Wrexham’s season ended almost a month ago and the Championship campaign won’t kick off until August.
Pre-season friendlies scratch an itch for many fans, and Wrexham will be jetting off for another pre-season tour.
Wrexham head to Australia and New Zealand this summer, though Ryan Reynolds’ idea to play in Auckland as well was shot down.
We are yet to see Wrexham dabble with the idea of a post-season tour, and it’s frankly something Phil Parkinson would surely be dead against.
Manchester United are currently in Asia, though, and will play a second friendly on Friday – less than a week since their Premier League campaign ended.
Former Wrexham ace Ashley Westwood to manage against Manchester United
United lost to the ASEAN All-Stars earlier this week and now take on Hong Kong on Friday.
Ruben Amorim’s players would surely rather be resting up after a long season, but they are instead playing in friendlies long before pre-season even starts.
The man Amorim faces on Friday is a familiar name to Wrexham supporters as Ashley Westwood leads Hong Kong into battle.
Former defender Westwood signed for Wrexham way back in 2008, spending two years at the club before joining Kettering Town.
Westwood – a former Manchester United prospect himself – turned out for the likes of Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and even Chester City before finding his way to Wrexham.
Westwood decided to reunite with Dean Saunders, having previously played together at Bradford City.
The former centre-back has been on a truly incredible journey since hanging up his boots at Portsmouth in 2012.
Westwood managed Kettering Town but then headed to manage in India and Malaysia before becoming Afghanistan’s national team boss in 2023.
Now in charge of Hong Kong, Westwood recently masterminded a seven-game winning run with victories over Cambodia, Philippines, Mauritius, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Guam and Macau.
Westwood would surely love to beat United, even if only in a friendly, and a victory would only add another layer to his remarkable coaching story.
Ashley Westwood on managing against Manchester United
Wrexham fans who remember Westwood would surely love to see him beat United and leave Amorim reeling.
It’s only a friendly, but this game means a lot to Westwood – and he has opened up on his thoughts about Friday’s game.
Speaking to The National, Westwood noted that he is not ‘overawed’ by facing United as he wants to manage in the Premier League.
Westwood pointed to Graham Potter’s rise as a manager and clearly has high hopes for himself in the dugout.
Westwood also admitted still being in contact with Sir Alex Ferguson, despite shunning United’s offer to stay at the club as a youngster.
“I don’t want to feel overawed because I’m not. I feel like that’s where I want to be every week, that I should be aiming to be the best coach I can be against the best teams possible,” said Westwood.
“I’m sure that if you’d interviewed Graham Potter 10 years ago when he was working in Scandinavia, he might have had the same kind of feelings. But he did so well that he got to the Premier League.
“I kept in contact with people from United. I speak to Sir Alex Ferguson a couple of times per year. He’s always incredibly helpful to me, and we have a nice chat – even though I left under a cloud because he wanted me to stay and I thought I knew best and wanted to play first-team football. He laughs about that now. He’s a great man,” he added.