Pre-season preparations are well under way and Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has provided an update on his plans for the Red Dragons’ first fixture.
The North Wales club are set to jet off to the United States for their pre-season tour in mid-July, with matches against Premier League sides AFC Bournemouth and Chelsea.
The Red Dragons will also face Vancouver Whitecaps when the club travels to Ryan Reynold’s home country Canada.
Before the squad head to America, the club has a pre-season fixture against Hanley Town to contend with.
Ahead of the away fixture on July 13th, Phil Parkinson will be pushing his squad’s fitness levels in preparation for the League One campaign.
The Wrexham squad returned for pre-season testing at the end of June, with veteran James McClean showing incredible fitness levels.
All members of the squad will want to make an impression in pre-season to fight for a starting place on the opening day. Wrexham will host Wycombe Wanderers at the Racecourse to kick off their League One campaign.
With pre-season training underway, Parkinson has issued an update on his plans for the Hanley fixture.
Phil Parkinson reveals plans for Wrexham vs Hanley Town friendly
The 56-year old coach will be looking for his side to push themselves in pre-season ahead of a challenging League One campaign. The Red Dragons kick-off their pre-season against Hanley Town.
Speaking to the Leader, the former Sunderland boss said: “Last year we had a pre-season friendly behind closed doors at Colliers Park against Bala and this year we have decided to have a fixture which will be open to supporters.
“All the squad will be going there. We will utilise the whole squad on the day.”
Commenting on why Hanley are suitable opponents for pre-season , Parkinson added: “I had a good chat with the Hanley chairman, we have been to have a look at the pitch and it looks really good.
“That is important. We wanted to go somewhere where we knew the pitch was going to be grass and not a 4G pitch, which a lot of non-league teams have got.”
Wrexham need to raise the standards starting with pre-season
Wrexham will be returning to League One football for the first time in almost 20 years.
The club is rising through the Football League rapidly, but, this coming campaign poses the biggest challenge that Parkinson’s side have faced since the Hollywood takeover.
The quality and standards of the league are stronger than League Two with several big clubs involved.
Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United will be looking to challenge for automatic promotion back to the Championship. Alongside, Bolton Wanderers who were close to promotion last year.
If the Red Dragons want to pose a serious threat in the league they will need to be prepared for the rise in standards.
Parkinson will know that pre-season is the perfect time to step up the expectations of his squad. If he can push his side in the coming weeks, he will reap the benefits in the gruelling campaign.