Ryan Barnett insists that “big teams and nice stadiums” will hold no fear for Wrexham as they ready themselves for life in League One.

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Red Dragons have returned to third tierChairmen setting ambitious targetsBusy summer ahead for Parkinson's side WHAT HAPPENED?

After securing back-to-back promotions, the Red Dragons find themselves in the third tier of English football for the first time in 20 years. They have come a long way in a short space of time under Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – with that remarkable journey being caught on camera by the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series.

AdvertisementGetty/GOALTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The intention is to piece together another top-six challenge in 2024-25, with Reynolds and McElhenney making no secret of the fact that they want to reach the Premier League as quickly as possible. The playing field does, however, start to level out in League One – with Wrexham about to come up against previous top-flight outfits in the form of Birmingham, Bolton, Barnsley, Blackpool, Charlton, Huddersfield, Reading, and Wigan.

WHAT BARNETT SAID

Barnett has told of facing those challenges head on: “There are obviously some big teams in there and some nice stadiums that we will be visiting but we will go into every game not worrying about what stadium we are playing in and what crowds we are playing in front of. We will just focus on getting the three points, that is something that the manager has instilled in us as players.”

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Wrexham’s squad, fresh from another trip to Las Vegas, will discover their 2024-25 schedule when the EFL fixture lists are released on June 26. In and around that, Phil Parkinson is hoping to get bodies on board in the summer transfer window while also taking in a second tour of North America.