Wrexham have come a long way in a short space of time but fans won’t just forget about the club’s lengthy stay in non-league football.
Relegation from League Two in 2008 saw Wrexham drop into non-league action for the first time since the 1920’s.
Wrexham fans will have been hoping that this would be a brief stay but the now-named National League became a familiar home.
After toying with promotion on a couple of occasions, Wrexham finally returned to the Football League in 2023 – and back-to-back promotions now leave Wrexham in League One.
This stunning rise has given Wrexham fans something which just didn’t seem possible even five years ago and those supporters are certainly appreciate after the non-league years.
Former Wrexham striker set for Real Madrid
Wrexham turned to Dean Saunders as the club’s new manager in 2008, replacing Brian Little at the STōK Cae Ras.
Saunders guided Wrexham to a fourth-place finish in 2011, but the season ended with a playoff semi-final defeat to Luton Town.
One of the key men for Wrexham was striker Andy Mangan, who actually arrived from Forest Green Rovers in January 2009.
After seven goals in 23 games to end the 2009-10 campaign, Mangan excelled with 16 goals in all competitions in the 2010-11 season.
Mangan was lured away to Fleetwood Town after Wrexham missed out on promotion and he turned out for the likes of Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley before retiring in 2018.
Mangan has turned his hand to coaching and assisted fellow Liverpudlian Joey Barton at both Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers.
Now with Stockport County, Mangan’s stock as a coach is rising – and he is now set for a stunning move to Real Madrid.
The Sun’s Alan Nixon reports that Mangan is heading for the Spanish capital to join Carlo Ancelotti’s coaching staff.
Mangan and Ancelotti’s son Davide are understood to have been on a coaching course together and that has paved the way for a staggering move.
Wrexham fans know Mangan from featuring alongside the likes of Mark Creighton, Dean Keates and Frank Sinclair.
Now, the 37-year-old will be charged with the task of helping players such as Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe.
That is a quite remarkable move for Mangan and one Wrexham fans could never have predicted during his playing days for the club.
Who knows, if Wrexham keep landing big-ticket pre-season friendlies in the United States, we could even see Mangan coaching with Real Madrid against Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham down the line.