Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds reveal why ex-Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson has been handed Wrexham job

Parkinson, who left Sunderland in November 2020, has been out of work since his departure from the Stadium of Light.

But he will now take charge at The Racecourse Ground as Wrexham look to mount an assault on the promotion places – having recently been the subject of a takeover by Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

And the duo have revealed how Parkinson’s desire to ‘embrace’ their vision for the club set him apart from other candidates.

In a statement, the duo said: “The process put in place by Les Reed, Shaun Harvey, Humphrey Ker & Fleur Robinson was thorough, and we were presented with any number of good options, all of whom would have been very credible managers for the Club.

“We’d like to thank all those that applied for the role but once we knew Phil was interested, he was our man and we got him.

“Phil has an immediate objective of gaining promotion but is conscious of our ambitions for the Club and embraced each element of our vision.”

Parkinson added: “Once the plans of the Chairmen were explained to me, the decision to join Wrexham was very easy. Wrexham are an EFL Club in all but the one thing that matters, league status, and we have a very clear objective with the work starting immediately.

“The Club didn’t need selling to me, it sold itself and I wanted to be part of the journey this Club is about to embark upon.

“We have a lot to do to be ready for August 21 and in the next seven weeks the aim is to add quality players to the existing squad, and create an environment and culture which gives us the best possible chance of promotion.”

Parkinson’s time at the Racecourse Ground is likely to be featured heavily in part of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, in which cameras will follow McElhenney and Reynolds’ running of the club.

The duo’s high-profile takeover of the club was completed earlier this year.

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