Mark Howard has tipped Wrexham to achieve a ‘huge feat’ in the not-so-distant future, and it’s not a third promotion.
Wrexham’s success under the stewardship of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds has been unparalleled.
The Hollywood owners have achieved back-to-back promotions for the first time in their history, watched the club transform into a global force and social media followers skyrocket to even greater heights.
During this time, McElhenney and Reynolds have learnt the importance of a tight-knit squad, blending mostly experience with a sprinkling of youthful exuberance to create the perfect recipe.
Individuals such as Paul Mullin – who plundered 26 goals last term – have played a massive part, but others who haven’t got on the pitch as much as they would have liked have still had a positive impact on the dressing room.
Veteran goalkeeper Mark Howard falls into the latter category, with the 37-year-old acting as a mentor for young shot-stopper Arthur Okonkwo, who flourished in between the sticks last term.
Despite only featuring seven times in League Two, Howard has made a bold prediction involving two of his former clubs.
Mark Howard believes Wrexham can become bigger than Cardiff and Swansea
In the infancy of his professional career, Howard spent periods on loan at Championship sides Swansea City and Cardiff City.
Although those two Welsh sides are established second-tier clubs and have spent several years between them in the Premier League, the former Sheffield United goalkeeper still believes that Wrexham could overtake them in terms of league position and stature.
Howard believes the fact they’re chasing that legacy is “incredible” in itself and has claimed that people are beginning to compare Wrexham to their Welsh counterparts.
As per Football League World, Howard said: “Potentially we could overtake them. It would be a huge feat to do so with the history and tradition that Cardiff and Swansea, two of my former clubs, have.
“To say we are chasing that sort of legacy is incredible in itself. Just look at where Wrexham have been for the last 15 years.
“We’ve had back to back promotions and now that people are starting to compare us to Cardiff or Swansea, clubs where I have been at and who have incredible fan bases, is amazing really.
“We are still playing catch up with them but speaking as being part of Wrexham, it’s a really exciting journey that we are on.”
Mark Howard’s importance to Wrexham
Howard’s experience will be invaluable to any goalkeeper they sign this summer, whether that’s Okonkwo or someone else.
He’s made 143 appearances in League One across his career, and while he won’t be expected to play a huge amount, there’s a reason why Wrexham offered him a new contract.
The most successful clubs usually have a veteran goalkeeper on their roster. You only have to look at Manchester City and Scott Carson to know it’s a formula that works.
Much like Howard, 38-year-old Carson brings more to the dressing room than he does on the pitch these days, but that is arguably just as important to achieving success.
They are in the squad to keep spirits high, offer words of wisdom and pass on their knowledge to the younger players in the squad.
Keeping Howard on for at least another season was a wise decision and just like Carson has for Man City, the veteran will hope for many more successful years in Wales.