Wrexham aren’t competing in the play-offs this season. Instead they took the automatic route up into the Championship after finishing in 2nd place.
Wrexham have been promoted to the Championship after another stellar season. Phil Parkinson waded through some ups and downs in 2024/25 but he got the job done in the end, earning a third-straight promotion with the Dragons.
Now, the Wrexham players are celebrating in Las Vegas. It’ll lead the club into a potentially make or break summer with a season in the Championship set to be their most difficult yet.
But the League One season isn’t entirely over just yet. The play-offs are ongoing with Leyton Orient the first confirmed finalists after they beat Stockport County on penalties on Wednesday night.
Charlton Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers is the other game. They drew the first leg 0-0 at Wycombe and go again at The Valley on Thursday night.
Wrexham favourite James McClean teases Stockport County after play-off exit
Wrexham and Stockport had a particularly fiery game back in March. Wrexham beat Stockport County 1-0 at the Racecourse in what was a massive win at the top of the League One table. And James McClean was a talking point because of the penalty incident in that game.
Stockport fans accused McClean of convincing the referee to give a penalty which proved the winner that day. That same game, McClean was targeted by an angry Stockport County fan. But it’s McClean who’s had the last laugh, posting on his Instagram story ‘Goodnight’ with a blowing kiss emoji after Stockport’s play-off exit.
The Hatters finished 3rd in the final League One table, five points behind 2nd place Wrexham, who ended up 19 points behind runaway leaders Birmingham City.
James McClean is truly loving life at Wrexham
McClean is one of the leaders in this Wrexham group. And his performances in 2024/25 prove that he’s still one of Parkinson’s key players despite now being 36 years old.
Speaking earlier in the year, McClean revealed how he loves playing for Wrexham, labelling it the most enjoyable period of his career so far.
He said: “It’s easy to say now, but it’s true: this is the most enjoyable time of my career. I’ve been honoured to play 150-odd Premier League games and 103 international caps but it’s about winning things and enjoying winning things being remembered – and that’s what I’m doing here, and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Love him or hate him, he’s been a great player for Wrexham. And he could yet have an interesting career lined up after football with McClean eyeing a boxing match with Jake Paul in the future.