Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney gave his star players a pep talk before their win against Blackpool, and captain James McClean has lifted the lid on how it went down
Wrexham captain James McClean has explained how a pre-match speech from Rob McElhenney helped inspire the team to victory over Blackpool. Phil Parkinson‘s side beat the Tangerines 2-1 away on Easter Monday to put them back ahead in the race for League One‘s second automatic promotion spot.
Former Republic of Ireland international McClean opened the scoring for the visitors just after the hour mark. Ollie Rathbone doubled their lead just minutes later, before Rob Apter scored a late consolation for Blackpool deep into injury time.
The result saw Wrexham rise back into second, two points ahead of Wycombe following their rivals’ 4-0 defeat to Charlton. Watching on from the away end with the 2,000 travelling supporters was delighted club co-owner McElhenney.
Wrexham bounced back after a disappointing 1-1 draw with lowly Bristol Rovers on Good Friday saw them drop into third. And McClean revealed how a talk from the Hollywood star the day before the crucial clash with Blackpool helped spur the players on.
“Yesterday we had Rob in and he had a good chat with us,” he said. “ [He was] just saying that all the outside noise is both good and bad and you’ve got to drown it out and relax.
“Hearing that from the owners, I think it took a bit of pressure off the lads today and I think you could see that in our play.”
Fellow Wrexham owner Ryan Reynolds gave a similar speech ahead of the club’s 3-0 win over Burton Albion earlier this month. Speaking after the Blackpool game, Red Dragons boss Parkinson praised the sense of unity created by the two actors.
“The togetherness of this club is second to none and that starts from the owners,” said Parkinson. “Rob was in yesterday having a chat with the lads, just explaining how well they’ve done and what his perception of the situation is.
“The lads listened and enjoyed speaking to our owner, as they did when Ryan came over a couple of weeks ago.
“I think what was really important for us is that when we drew last week, there was some inevitable negativity, because we hadn’t beaten a team down in the bottom four, but we didn’t let that affect us going into this game.
“Today we’ve won, and obviously Wycombe have lost, but we’re not going to get too carried away the other way either. Everybody’s in training tomorrow and the lads will have a recovery session.
“The other players are going to train, and we’re going to be ready for next Saturday. Honestly, I can’t wait for the game.”
Wrexham could potentially be promoted at home on Saturday if they win against Charlton, who are currently just four points behind them, and Wycombe fail to beat Leyton Orient. The Welsh side have just two games remaining this season as they aim to secure a historic third successive promotion.
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