For the first time in the 160-year existence of the team, Wrexham earned back-to-back promotions and qualified for League One by finishing second to Stockport County.
The Wrexham stars, especially Max Cleworth, who is now old enough to legally drink in the US, are giddy about going to Las Vegas for a second post-promotion vacation.
After earning consecutive promotions this season, Sin City is requesting the Red Dragons. With the club currently in the spotlight in Tinseltown, its sights are set on a well-earned Nevada celebration before they begin showing off in League One.
Wrexham finished slightly behind Stockport County to secure their place in the English football third level. This season has been extremely unpredictable, with the intense drama that has become standard since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over three years ago.
After a 15-year break, the Dragons stormed back into the English Football League and under the astute direction of Phil Parkinson, went on to achieve rapid success. With a few games remaining, they secured another automatic promotion place after defeating Forest Green Rovers with a resounding victory. Their unwavering pursuit of excellence paid off.
After a thrilling 2-1 victory over Stockport at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, the boys will celebrate their accomplishment with another all-expenses-paid blowout in Las Vegas. Thanks to the 21-year-old drinking age limit in the USA, star defender Max Cleworth is now able to legally partake in the festivities this year, after he was a little too young for last year’s celebration.
“Hopefully just enjoy it a bit more than I did last year,” the now-21-year-old grinned following Saturday’s season-ending 2-1 victory against Stockport County. “A couple more places will let me in. I’ll appreciate it even more, but it’s also amazing that the owners treated us to something like that, and it’s extra great to do it with our group of guys,” the Mirror says.
According to Cannon, the Wrexham team’s close-knit community has played a significant role in both their back-to-back promotions and their incredible season-ending five-game winning streak.
With only three minutes remaining in regular play against the Hatters, Cannon scored the game-winning goal to make it two goals in his past two games for Wrexham. “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,” Cannon said. “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.”
Cannon’s thoughts mirrored those of his boss Phil Parkinson, who lauded his squad’s unity and dedication during the final stretch of a nail-biting 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 revealed.
“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.” When questioned about what has fuelled this mindset throughout the season, Cannon didn’t hesitate to credit the man at the helm.
“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 stated. “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.”
