It’s hard to imagine Wrexham without Phil Parkinson now, but just over four years ago the Red Dragons had Dean Keates at the helm. So, what’s happened to him since he left the club?
Since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over at Wrexham, it’s been largely down to Phil Parkinson to steer the Red Dragons to glory.
He’s succeeded every step of the way, too, guiding Wrexham to three successive promotions to get them back to the second tier of the EFL.
It’s interesting to think what could have been, though, had Rob and Ryan kept faith in Keates all those years ago. One thing’s for sure, it’s very unlikely Wrexham would be in the Championship if they had.
- READ MORE: Wrexham praised for ‘brilliant’ thing they’ve done with eight players in Phil Parkinson’s squad
What happened to Dean Keates at Wrexham?
Keates was actually in charge of Wrexham between 2016 and 2018, having made 160 appearances for the Red Dragons over a five-year spell as a player at the Racecourse Ground from 2010 to 2015, where he was even given the captain’s armband.
He was involved in two failed play-off attempts as a player for Wrexham, before moving to Welsh outfit Rhyl and then retiring at Rushall Olympic.
Keates was handed the permanent manager job at Wrexham after an interim spell in 2016, but left the Red Dragons with nine games to go in the 2017/18 campaign to take over at Walsall. However, he lasted just over a year with the Saddlers, another of his former clubs, before being sacked.
He returned to Wrexham six months later, with the club way down in 20th position. Two months after his arrival, the Wrexham board had to publicly apologise to the fans for the poor performances.
| Club | Dates joined/left | Games | W | D | L | Win percentage |
| Wrexham | Oct 2016/Mar 2018 | 73 | 25 | 26 | 22 | 34.2% |
| Walsall | Mar 2018/Apr 2019 | 60 | 18 | 13 | 29 | 30.0% |
| Wrexham | Oct 2019/May 2021 | 74 | 30 | 18 | 26 | 40.5% |
By the end of the season, Wrexham had missed out on the play-offs, leaving the club with no option but to let Keates go and not offer him a new contract.
From there, as we know, an extensive process saw more than 60 applicants come in for the Wrexham job, but Parkinson was the top choice and was offered the role. The rest, as they say, is history.
- READ MORE: The ‘£10m-20m’ gap Phil Parkinson just highlighted at Wrexham will worry Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac
Where is Dean Keates now?
Interestingly, Keates has admitted he always expected to lose his job at Wrexham once the new owners came in.
He said (via BBC Sport): “When new owners come in there’s always change and it’s more than likely the manager [that changes]. People like to have their own staff in. With five games left, I had almost been told – not directly, through somebody at the football club to my agent’s company – that I wouldn’t be there the following season. I knew what was coming.”
Since departing Wrexham, Keates has been unable to find a new job and has been away from football for just over four years now.
Keates insisted he left Wrexham with “no bitterness” but you have to wonder whether his love and passion for the game may have been affected by his Wrexham exit. Perhaps we’ll see him back in a management role eventually, but you’d think he would have landed a new job by now if he wanted one.