Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac on Phil Parkinson’s ‘growth’ and building Wrexham's 'entire culture’

Phil Parkinson is embarking upon his sixth season as manager of the Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney) co-owned Wrexham AFC.

When the Hollywood stars took over ownership of the Welsh minnows back in 2021, they were languishing in the National League, having not played second-tier soccer since 1982.

Now, following three straight promotions and having narrowly missed out on a Premier League promotion playoff spot at their first attempt last season, they’re back in the EFL Championship in an attempt to make it four promotions in six seasons under Parkinson.

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Phil Parkinson has led Wrexham to three promotions during his five seasons in charge -Credit:Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images

Currently the fourth longest-serving manager in England’s top four leagues, Parkinson has now been at the Racecourse Ground longer than he’d previously been at any other club, having surpassed his just under five-year stint with Bradford City.

During that span, Reynolds believes the 58-year-old has “grown into his role,” telling the ‘Men in Blazers‘ podcast, “I think a lot of the reason there’s so much turnover is there’s a thing called the Dunning-Kruger effect, which has kind of been something that would say, and arguably, that’s been the secret to our success.

“It’s when people who basically, in a nutshell, overestimate their competence at things. And I think that the great leaders in this world know who to draw from and know when to ask for help, know when to say, ‘I don’t know.’ And really, they start to understand the expansiveness of their own echoing ‘I don’t know’ in life.

“And I think Phil is one of those guys who is just constantly feeding and understands that that’s a huge recipe for success. And I would just venture to guess that that’s the operating system inside Phil Parkinson, and the secret to his, I don’t know how many…sixth year as our coach over at Wrexham AFC.”

Mac was equally glowing in his praise for the manager and his impact on their beloved Red Dragons over the past five years, noting that while they have done what they can to help the club throughout their stewardship, the credit for their success really belongs to Parkinson.

To listen to the latest episode of ‘All Out Soccer’ – Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac on

“We try to stay away from all football-related decisions from a strategy standpoint,” he said. “We approve budgets, and then we are helpful insofar as we’re happy to reach out to players. And we have a great relationship with all the players or incoming players to get them to understand what the culture is.

“But we really truly rely on Phil, and he’s done so from the very beginning. It’s not that he just built a team. He built the entire culture at the club, on the pitch. And so we’re just always listening to whatever he wants and what he asks. And then we try to give him the resources to go and execute on that.”

Those ‘resources’ have led Wrexham to sign three players so far this summer, following a blockbuster window a year ago in which 13 senior additions were made. To date, goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, full-back Danny Imray, and midfielder Ben Whiteman have been brought in, although Parkinson recently hinted at the potential for further additions before the window closes on September 1.

One player who has been heavily linked with the Red Dragons is Norwegian international defender Henrik Falchener, who starred at the FIFA World Cup in North America this summer.

All the while, Parkinson must also remain focused on the games at hand, which are already coming thick and fast, having lost their EFL Cup First Round match 1-0 at Middlesbrough before kicking off their Championship campaign with a 1-1 draw at Cardiff City.