Wrexham

Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac (who recently changed his name from Rob McElhenney) have made their ambitions clear ever since their first interview as owners in 2021.

A member of the media asked the actors what their perfect ending would be? Reynolds responded: “We’d be lying if it wasn’t the Premier League.

So far, so good for the north Wales outfit. They’re one promotion away from the top flight and their latest accounts reveal a record turnover of £33.3m in the process. But was it ever really the aim to make it four promotions in a row?

At the start of their first season back in the second tier of English football since 1982, Wrexham chief executive Michael Williamson told the Telegraph, external that his aims for the season were Championship survival, a mid-table finish and to be competitive.

He proposed this to Reynolds and Mac, who immediately responded by asking what it would take to reach the top two.

Williamson went on to say that after discussions between the club’s hierarchy, they landed on: “Let’s be competitive and see where we end up.”

“If we can find ourselves in that position towards the back end of the season, I give us a very good shot of being in the play-offs. And then, ultimately, if we’re in the play-offs, I give us a very good shot of getting promoted just because of who we are and what we are and the DNA, the resilience and what it means to this town and for the squad,” explained Williamson.

The CEO also said that should promotion not be achieved this time, then that was OK too.

Wrexham came agonisingly close to earning a shock win over the Saints on the opening day of the campaign.

Josh Windass opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the visitors at St Mary’s Stadium but last-gasp goals from Ryan Manning and Jack Stephens earned the hosts victory.

Despite that triumph, the Saints struggled under Will Still and parted company with the head coach in early November.

They have drastically improved under German boss Eckert, winning nine of their past 12 league fixtures.

But Lewis O’Brien, who netted his side’s second goal at West Brom last time out, feels Wrexham’s improvement since the first fixture between the sides is evident.

“We were a pretty new team. There were a lot of signings and we were trying to understand how everyone played,” the midfielder said of the August contest.

“We’ve now got three games at home and three away and hopefully we can pick up as many points as we can.”

Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore has been ruled out of Wales’ World Cup play-offs with a hamstring injury.

The 33-year-old had been a major doubt since sustaining a tendon split during the FA Cup defeat against Chelsea earlier this month.

Having missed subsequent Championship matches against Hull City and Swansea City, Moore is not expected to return to action until April.

That means he will be unavailable for Wales’ World Cup play-off semi-final against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 26 March and, if they win that game, their play-off final against Italy or Northern Ireland five days later.

“Kieffer’s not going to be right for the internationals, which is a blow for him and for Wales,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.

“He’s got this tendon injury which he feels OK with, but he’s shown up on the scan and it’s one of those injuries that, up to 80-85% you’re fine, but if you extend beyond that you make yourself susceptible to muscle injuries.”