Former Wrexham player Matt Jansen has been discussing Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s goal of reaching the Premier League.
Ryan Reynolds was mocked by the media back in 2021 when he suggested he wanted to take the Red Dragons to the top-flight of English football.
Since then, Wrexham have won three promotions in a row and are competing in the Championship for the first time since the competition was rebranded.
It emerged this summer that Reynolds and Mac want to be in the Premier League by 2027, but life in the Championship is proving far more difficult than the owners likely ever imagined.
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Matt Jansen on Wrexham not winning Premier League promotion
Reynolds is privately frustrated by Wrexham, who are yet to win a home league game this season and sit 18th in the Championship.
Former striker Matt Jansen has now commented on the Dragons’ start to 2025/26, insisting that the Welsh outfit not reaching the Premier League in the next four or five years would not be a failure.
He told GOAL: “It is an incredibly difficult league, a lot of strong teams. Every season, three Premier League teams come down and they are expected to go straight back up again.
“I don’t think it would be a failure just to compete in the Championship and try and get into the play-offs and knock on the door of the Premier League.
“It wouldn’t be a failure not getting to the Premier League in four or five years.”
Wrexham are five points adrift of the top six going into their meeting with Stoke City, while defeat on Saturday could see them move to within a point of the relegation zone.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 12 | |
| 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 12 | |
| 16 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 12 | |
| 17 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 11 | |
| 18 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 10 | |
| 19 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 8 | |
| 20 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 15 | -4 | 8 | |
| 21 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 7 | |
| 22 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 6 |
The owners do not expect promotion this year, but with the goal to reach the Premier League within two seasons, doubts over Phil Parkinson have emerged.
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Phil Parkinson taking Wrexham to the Premier League questioned
Shaun Harvey dismissed talk of Wrexham sacking Parkinson earlier this season after a poor run of results.
While the 57-year-old is not expected to be moved on any time soon, there are those who doubt his ability to reach the top-flight.
Wrexham experts Nathan Salt and Rich Fay have both agreed Parkinson won’t win Premier League promotion with the Dragons.
Salt said: “I don’t think so.”
Fay replied: “I’d also say no because I think you have to, you could spend a ridiculous amount of money and maybe by virtue of having much better players, we could do so, but I’m talking hundreds, hundreds of millions.
“I just don’t think tactically we’re going to be able to outsmart enough teams this season or maybe next season to get promoted to the Premier League.”
