It's scarcely believable - the remarkable turnaround in Wrexham AFC's fortunes has left us fans pinching ourselves

Wrexham rewrote the record books on Satuday when they secured promotion to the EFL Championship, completing an historic third successive promotion.

For those of us who have been watching the team for years, it’s scarcely believable.

I’ve been following Wrexham for more than 35 years, and I’ve seen a few ups and plenty of downs during that time. Standing on the Kop (on tiptoes) as a 15-year-old and watching us beat the reigning English champions, Arsenal, 2-1 in the FA Cup in 1991 was, until the last couple of seasons, probably the highlight.

Drawing 2-2 away to West Ham in the following match was up there, along with the promotion seasons of 1992-93 and 2002-03, not to mention winning the Football League Trophy at the Millennium Stadium in 2005 and the FA Trophy at Wembley in 2013.

There have been plenty of lows too, in fact too many to mention - both on the field and especially off it, notably when the club, with all of its rich history, stood on the brink of extinction.

But let’s not dwell on those dark days. Since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds purchased the club in February 2021, the transformation has been extraordinary.

From narrowly escaping relegation from the National League during the Covid-affected 2019-20 season, the team is now heading into England’s second tier, the EFL Championship - and our Hollywood owners have made it clear their ambitions don’t end there.

Back-to-back-to-back promotions hadn’t been done - until now. To think that we have gone from non league to the Championship in just three seasons beggars belief.

The team, led by manager Phil Parkinson, continues to evolve. Along the way, we found heroes, and some of those heroes have since been usurped by new heroes. Sometimes this is hard for us fans to accept. The team’s tactics have at times attracted criticism, but the results speak for themselves. As our co-owners said after Saturday’s triumph: “In Phil we trust”.

As well as breathing new life on the pitch, our co-owners have rejuvenated the club off the field. There is a buzz about Wrexham, especially on match days when the town (sorry, city) is awash with fans. Everyone you meet, it seems, is wearing some sort of Wrexham clothing, from replica shirts, to hats, scarfs - even trainers.

It’s rubbed off on our family, as well as many others. For years, my two sons showed little enthusiasm, despite my best efforts. Then Rob and Ryan arrived and it all changed. Now, there are five of us (including my wife and my sister-in-law) at every home game - providing we can get tickets of course. Sadly, I was too slow on the season ticket front before our popularity exploded.

Of course, our popularity does not extend to the rest of the footballing world. Rival fans are quick to point out that we are among the biggest spenders in the league, while the Hollywood owners and Disney documentary are cited as reasons to dislike the club. 'You're just buying your way to promotion,' is perhaps the most common criticism levelled at us.

There is some truth to this - we have signed players from higher leagues and paid higher salaries to get them - but after years of struggle, I can’t bring myself to feel remotely guilty about it.

Back to Saturday. Wycombe losing to Leyton Orient in the 12.30 kick off meant we knew victory would see us clinch promotion. Everyone was nervous. Except the players, who delivered probably the most complete performance of the season at the STōK Cae Ras, watched by our illustrious co-owners.

We scored three superb goals to comfortably see off in-form Charlton Athletic. The atmosphere was electric, the players magnificent. Most of us lost our voice after 18 minutes, when the second goal went in.

When the third goal arrived in the 81st minute, we knew we had made it - and the sense of release was palpable. It felt like the whole of Wrexham was bouncing. The second the referee blew for full time, the pitch was invaded by thousands of fans. Players were mobbed, then hoisted onto shoulders, flares exploded and chants of ‘Town are going up, olé, olé’ rang around the stadium. For the third time in three years, we were celebrating promotion.

As we joined the chaos on the pitch, I bumped into a friend who I hadn’t seen for a few years. We hugged - and he then pointed to my two lads and said: “This isn’t normal, you know.” He’s right. It’s not normal; at some point, the incredible ride that we have been on for the last four years will stutter. We know that competing in the Championship will be a huge challenge.

For now though, us fans can only bask in the glory of another remarkable day in the history of this remarkable club.

What a day. What a season. What a story.