'Wholly unsustainable' - Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney explain why Wrexham would have been 'f*cked' in shock National League promotion admission

• Wrexham promoted from National League
• Long-term goal to reach Premier League
• Reynolds stressed dangers of failing to go up

WHAT HAPPENED? Hollywood-backed Wrexham ended their 15-year stay outside the Football League after winning the National League title in late April. Despite winning the division in style and topping the table with a record points total of 111, the pressure on the Welsh side to go up was huge. While co-owners and actors Reynolds and McElhenney have heavily backed the club financially since taking over in early 2021, they admitted in the first episode of Season 2 of 'Welcome to Wrexham', that they would have been "f*****" financially if they did not win the league.

WHAT THEY SAID: On the show, which premiered in the United States on Tuesday night on FX before being released on Disney+ in the UK on Wednesday, Reynolds said: “We’re heavily invested in building this club, the stadium itself, and if we don’t get promoted this year, the club is completely, totally and wholly unsustainable.”

McElhenney added: “If our goal from the very beginning was not just to win, not just to help bring some hope and optimism to the town, but to build a sustainable business, something that can continue long after we’ve gone. For us to put them in a position where if they don’t get promoted this year, that they are no longer sustainable in any real way, is counter to what our original promises were.”

To which Reynolds chimed in: “So its really ratcheted up the pressure, not just for us but for the players on the field, the people in the community. This year we have to get promoted.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: In the end, Wrexham did get promoted to League Two, where Phil Parkinson's men have started the new season brightly. They sit seventh in the table with just one loss from their opening seven matches. However, the long-term goal is to see Wrexham make it to the Premier League one day. Despite being in the fourth tier of English football, Wrexham are developing a world-wide following thanks to the names of Reynolds and McElhenney, and using their platform to help the Dragons' brand grow.

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WHAT NEXT? Wrexham are back in league action on Saturday when they take on Grimsby Town.