Wrexham picked up their first league win of the season on Saturday after a promising 2-0 win away at Millwall.
Wrexham finally have their first league win of the season on the board, and back-to-back wins after Phil Parkinson’s side beat Preston North End in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
Heading down to The Den, it promised to be a tough game for the Dragons who had lost their opening two Championship games of the season before picking up their first point against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
The first half was back-and-forth but Wrexham held their own. Then in the second half, Kieffer Moore broke the deadlock with Lewis O’Brien adding a second late on as Wrexham beat Millwall 2-0.
And for James McClean, it was another game where he picked up a lot of stick from the rival fans.
- READ MORE: Five things learned as Wrexham beat Millwall, £8m well spent and the Kieffer Moore problem
James McClean has the last laugh as Wrexham beat Millwall
McClean has often been a pantomime villain in the Football League. And against Millwall, the home fans certainly let their feelings be known towards the Irishman. McClean came onto the pitch after the 77th minute and every touch he got was met by ringing boos from the Millwall supporters.
But McClean kept his head down and eventually provided the assist for O’Brien’s late goal, having the last laugh as Wrexham left The Den with all three points. And it will be extra special for McClean to get the win, after the 33-year-old picked out Millwall away as the game he was most looking forward to going into this season.
- READ MORE: Five things learned as Wrexham beat Millwall, £8m well spent and the Kieffer Moore problem
James McClean’s role at Wrexham is changing
Liberato Cacace returned to the starting line-up against Millwall. The Kiwi had missed the last league outing through injury, but it’s clear that Parkinson views Cacace as the number one option on the left right now, and for the future too.
And earlier in the month, Wrexham signed Callum Doyle in an £8m deal. He’s slotted in at centre-back, but he can also play on the left, and so Parkinson all of a sudden has some good options down the left flank.
But Wrexham recently handed McClean a new contract until the end of the 2026-27 season, so it’s clear that Parkinson still values McClean.
He might be there to simply provide cover where needed and step in whenever someone’s injured, and also to share his experience with the players.