Wrexham are now just hours away from their first taste of second tier football in 43 years.
Phil Parkinson has a number of injury concerns heading into the clash with Southampton and will be without key figures in Ollie Rathbone and Jay Rodriguez.
It remains to be seen how many competitive debuts will be handed out but Kieffer Moore became the club’s eighth signing of the summer after arriving from Sheffield United.
Parkinson has hinted at more transfers but has revealed that owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been measured in their approach to the market this summer.
READ MORE: Meet Wrexham’s signings, all eight new faces profiled after Phil Parkinson’s summer transfer spree
Phil Parkinson not under pressure from Wrexham owners
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Wrexham’s trip to Southampton, Parkinson revealed conversations with the Wrexham owners over the summer.
Parkinson stated: “One thing with Rob and Ryan, they’ve never put pressure on us, it’s about getting the squad and the template we set out in the summer,
“Can we fill the blanks where we needed players to come in to give us a chance to be competitive in the division? They’re the conversations I have with Rob and Ryan rather than, ‘we’ve got to do this or that’. They’ve just been supportive to help us build a competitive squad.”
There will be a huge relief among the Wrexham fanbase to hear those words from their manager given that this is likely to be the toughest season during his reign at the club.
Wrexham have had four seasons of winning football matches on a regular basis, even the 2021-22 season where they lost in the National League play-offs was a dominant season from the club.
Parkinson’s Championship record has been well documented as not being the best and he and his players will take time to adapt to the step up in quality.
It is important the Wrexham owners realise it may take some time for new signings to gel and the team to get used to the higher intensity of the Championship.
The fact that Parkinson feels no ‘pressure’ from Reynolds and McElhenney means he can focus on the job of achieving a respectable finish in the league campaign.
Wrexham will fancy their chances of picking up wins early in the season
A good start to the season will ease any tension that the players and coaching staff may have about the upcoming campaign and Wrexham’s opening fixtures present chances to get wins on the board.
Coming up against recent Premier League opposition is a daunting opening day but Wrexham have been known to spring a surprise or two in the past.
| Wrexham’s first six Championship fixtures |
| Southampton (away) |
| West Brom (home) |
| Sheffield Wednesday (home) |
| Millwall (away) |
| QPR (home) |
| Norwich (away) |
The Red Dragons will look at their three opening home games as real opportunities to earn three points and build momentum at the Racecourse Ground.
They have made the Racecourse a formidable weapon in recent seasons and their form there this campaign could make all the difference.
Parkinson will also have to find a way to set his team up to pick up points on the road as Southampton, Millwall and Norwich present three very tough challenges to begin with.