Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has revealed that the club had an agreement with Wigan not to play new signing James McClean in their Carabao Cup clash.
McClean made the transfer from Wigan to Wrexham in the past few days, and could have made his debut against his former club as the two sides met each other in the Carabao Cup.
Wrexham secured a victory on penalties following a 0-0 draw in which they were the better side, but McClean was not included in the matchday squad.
Speaking after the game, Parkinson claimed that Wrexham had promised not to play him following the transfer, which saw the Republic Of Ireland star drop down to League Two.
“He’s fit and raring to go, he could’ve played tonight but we had a gentlemen’s agreement with Wigan so we stuck to that,” Parkinson stated.
Progress being made
Wrexham’s victory in the cup was a welcome one following the opening day defeat at home to MK Dons, and with McClean now joining as the second signing of the summer, there is cause for optimism again.
An injury to Paul Mullin as well as the humbling on their return to the Football League raised questions about whether Wrexham could cope with the step-up in quality between the National League and EFL. Whilst it took penalties to progress to the next round, the performance was impressive from Parkinson’s side against a team which was in the Championship last season.
McClean will add a lot of quality to the side, who will hope to pick up their first win of the campaign away at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, as they aim for back to back promotions, as they operate with some of the strongest financial support in the whole division.