Las Vegas, here they come. Wrexham’s Andy Cannon and Max Cleworth are eyeing up their upcoming Sin City bash after “playing through pain every game” to achieve promotion with the Hollywood-owned club.
Wrexham secured back-to-back promotions for the first time in the club’s 160-year history and finished runners-up behind Stockport County to earn a berth in League One for next season.
The season has been as triumphant as it has been tumultuous, a calling card for the club since its takeover three years go by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. A rocky baptism back into the English Football League after a 15-year absence swiftly gave way to some scintillating form from Phil Parkinson’s side. A dogged final furlong eventually warranted another automatic promotion berth following a thunderous win over Forest Green Rovers with two games remaining in the season.
Another all-expensed Las Vegas extravaganza is planned to celebrate the team’s achievements after the season’s end with Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Stockport County at the Stok Racecourse. And this time, highly-rated defender Max Cleworth will be old enough to revel in the full extent of the city’s offerings after being too young last year (the USA's legal drinking age is 21 years old).
“Hopefully just enjoy it a bit more than I did last year,” said the now 21-year-old after the 2-1 win over Stockport County on Saturday in the final game of the season. “I’ll be allowed in a few more places. I’ll enjoy it more but also to be treated to something like that by the owners is unbelievable and to do it with the group of lads we’ve got is really special.”
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The group spirit coursing through the Wrexham squad is an advantage Cannon believes helped in not only securing successive promotions but finishing the season on a winning run of five matches.
“We’re going to Vegas again, hopefully I'll have a good time with everyone but I don't want to stop the season right now personally,” said Cannon who scored the winner against the Hatters with three minutes of regular time remaining to make it two games in his last two appearances for Wrexham. “Because I've been adding goals to my game, and I've been enjoying every second of it, but at the same time, I think everyone's needed a well-deserved rest as well.
“The boys are playing through pain every game, and I count myself as well. I've been obviously going through pain every game. It's very tough, and obviously people on the outside don't know the ins and outs, but we're going to every game, and I'm not sure everyone's 100% all the time. But that's what we've got. We've got a good mentality in the players, and players willing to just obviously go out and give it their all.”
Wrexham will play in League One next season (Getty Images)Cannon’s sentiments echoed those of his manager Phil Parkinson, who praised his players’ show of camaraderie and commitment in the final weeks of a high-wire season.
“I just said to the lads in there that there's teams in around all four divisions when the real crunches came, they’ve gone the other way,” Parkinson said. “When the key fixtures have arrived, we've kind of cranked it up and put in some really good performances. That's really important to produce when the crunch time of the season arrives. And today obviously it wasn't the game with everything on it, which is how it could have been, but still we're pleased to finish the season on a high.”
Asked what has stoked that mentality throughout the season, Cannon was unabashed as he pointed to the man in the managerial seat.
“Having good people around, the gaffer obviously does his research on people, and I think he's built a really good team in terms of people,” Cannon said. “Everyone gets along with each other, and they all work hard for each other, so that's a key factor, and that's all down to the gaffer.”
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