Rob McElhenney reflects on ‘magical’ Wrexham season

McElhenney said he kept in contact with Reynolds during Saturday’s game and explained the Deadpool star was disappointed to be absent as Phil Parkinson’s side secured the runners-up spot.

Huge overseas interest in the club, as a result of their celebrity owner involvement and access-all-areas documentary, helped Wrexham achieve record turnover in recent accounts.

McElhenney was asked whether the predictions of reaching the top-flight were now being taken seriously, but he said: “It’s just one step at a time.”

He added: “We didn’t expect promotion to come so quickly. I’d be lying if I said we didn’t expect that we would be up there – and that’s just based on conversations we’d had with Phil [Parkinson] throughout the off-season.

“Even as we stumbled at the beginning, he had a steady hand and he felt we’d be up there near the top – if not the top three then in play-off contention – so we felt pretty confident, but you never know with football.”

Wrexham’s slow start to the season – and mid-table stumble – had seen some criticism of Parkinson before he silenced doubters in steering the club to the third tier for the first time since 2005.

It was Parkinson’s fifth promotion of his career, and McElhenney praised his achievement by saying: “The man has done nothing but deliver constantly and consistently.”