Wrexham are touring Australia and New Zealand for the very first time. While the Championship awaits the Welsh side in 2025-26, they will first have to play three A-League clubs across three cities on their preseason tour.
ESPN will be with them every step of the way as Phil Parkinson, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney & Co. plot their path to the Premier League.
Wrexham wheeling and dealing from afar
MELBOURNE, Australia -- After going through a brief training session the previous evening to blow away the cobwebs from their long journey, Wrexham's touring party took things up a gear on Wednesday. On a bitterly cold, blustery morning they ramped up their preparation for the first game of the tour against Melbourne Victory on Friday, to say nothing of their historic return to the Championship, with position-specific work and a 10-vs.-10 game.
"I thought it would be warm," said forward Sam Smith. "But we quickly found out it would be winter over here and absolutely freezing."
The Red Dragons have brought a 30-player travelling squad Down Under, with Luke Bolton and Jake Bickerstaff the only contracted senior players not making the trip, with the latter being spotted training at Oldham Athletic by eagle-eyed fans on social media. However, as Wrexham prepare to return to the English second tier for the first time in more than four decades, coach Phil Parkinson has acknowledged that "the squad is not where we need it to be at the moment." So there remains a chance that the touring party could grow if new signings are made in the days ahead.
"We're looking to improve that before the season starts, certainly before the transfer window closes. That's ongoing," he said. "We're having several meetings. What you see today on the training pitch, there's a lot of work going on behind the scenes. It's never easy getting players. Even though a lot of players want to come to play for Wrexham, prying good players away from clubs who don't want to sell them is never easy. But we're trying our best.
"There's a possibility of [signings flying into Australia], but a couple of the ones that I'd say are the closest are both away with their particular clubs at the moment. So there are slight complications.
"But when you're looking to sign players who are at clubs, you know they're training, they're doing preseason, so as much as you want to get them integrated into your group, you know the fitness element will be there anyway."
Further complicating Parkinson's hunt for new signings is that Melbourne is nine hours ahead of the UK, meaning that any talks taking place in normal business hours back home are well past bedtime Down Under. Thus, while players have been able to focus on their sleep and recovery as they prepare for their first run-out of the tour, Parkinson and the rest of Wrexham's brain trust have been up late into the night making moves.
"This morning, I was probably on the phone until about three o'clock," Parkinson said. "Going through, speaking to agents, catching up with a few players we've been speaking to. It's crucial. What we don't want to do with this trip is have the time difference impact on the recruitment. We're working hard to make sure that doesn't happen."
Sights and sounds
Wrexham assistant manager Steve Parkin is a massive cricket fan, so a tour of the 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground was an opportunity not be missed. Former Australia captain Aaron Finch was on hand to test some of the players' catching skills.
Quote of the day
"It's extremely important. It's two weeks to spend with the team and the staff, to bond. It means that when you go through difficult times in the season, you're all across each other and you'll go that extra yard for each other." -- Sam Smith on the team-building benefits of a preseason tour.
What's on tomorrow for Wrexham?
The grind of preseason training will continue but, after visiting the home of Australian cricket on Wednesday, several members of the Wrexham touring party are keen to continue experiencing the local sporting scene. Staff and players will head along to watch Carlton host the Brisbane Lions in an AFL match at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night -- the same stadium where they will face Melbourne Victory on Friday.