James McClean has been speaking to the press in New Zealand ahead of Wrexham’s game against Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
Wrexham conclude their pre-season tour down under when they play New Zealand’s Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.
So far this summer, Wrexham have beaten Melbourne Victory 3-0 before then losing 2-1 against Sydney FC, in a pre-season tour that has offered a lot off the pitch, but mixed results on it.
Despite fears over tickets sales for the Wrexham Down Under tour, there was a full house for the Sydney FC game which was watched by more than 40,000.
And there’s many expected to turn out for the Wellington game too, with the Welcome to Wrexham docuseries most popular in Australia after the UK and USA.
Ollie Palmer ‘loves the spotlight’ at Wrexham, says James McClean
Even for the Melbourne game, in a stadium that holds more than 50,000, the attendance was sky high. More than 37,000 fans watched Wrexham beat Melbourne, showcasing just how popular the Dragons are across the world and in Australia specifically.
Names like manager Phil Parkinson and skipper James McClean are well-known and popular. But speaking to the press in New Zealand ahead of the Wellington game, McClean revealed that it’s actually Ollie Palmer who’s the most popular among fans in Australia.
He joked with 1News: “Apart from me? Ollie Palmer, he’s quite popular. Obviously he’s been here from the start of the show and he’s a big character anyway, and kind of embraces the fame and popularity, he almost kind of basks in it! Ollie loves the spotlight.”
Is Ollie Palmer set to get a second chance at Wrexham?
After Paul Mullin joined Wigan Athletic on loan, many expected Palmer to closely follow, after he and Mullin barely got a look-in in the second half of last season in League One.
But Wrexham fans were impressed with Palmer’s performance against Melbourne in the pre-season opener, and with Wrexham having several injury concerns right now, we may see Parkinson forced to utilise Palmer going into the new season.
He’s proved himself in the past but many might argue that the Championship is a step too far for the 33-year-old. Though unless the likes of Sam Smith, Jay Rodriguez, and Ryan Hardie make rapid recoveries then it could well be Palmer that leads the line against Southampton on August 9th.