Wrexham’s popularity in the UK has slumped as rivals have grown jealous of their success, according to one of the club’s directors.
The Red Dragons enjoyed a huge groundswell of support when they were first taken over by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in February 2021.
Then in the National League, their fame also hit new levels around the globe following the release of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary on Disney+.
READ MORE: BBC Match of the Day to be shaken up as One Show’s Roman Kemp set for job
READ MORE: Son of Premier League great joins Wrexham on trial and is aiming to secure contract
Director Shaun Harvey said this led to fans of clubs in higher divisions adopting them as their second team.
However, with Phil Parkinson’s side since earning successive promotions to League One and outspending most of their rivals in the process, the former EFL chief executive believes their approval ratings have dipped.
Speaking to US-based supporters at an event in New York this week, Harvey said: “Wrexham was the underdog in the UK when we started, but not necessarily because we were the poorest club.
“We weren’t since Rob and Ryan came in, but the town of Wrexham was the underdog.
“It had been downtrodden for 15 years in terms of its football and industries had left the town. It was in despair and people wanted to get out and not get in.
“We got to this position where we could be everybody’s favourite second team, because nobody saw Wrexham as a challenge.”
He added: “It was acceptable all of a sudden to be a Wrexham fan, as well as being a Manchester United fan, or a Liverpool fan, or any other club that you wanted to support. That positioning actually made us universally popular.
“Now, how popular we are is waning in certain places in the UK. We’ve gone from being this plucky little underdog, to all of a sudden we’re a threat, and people don’t like that as much.”
Harvey’s comments come despite a recent YouGov survey showing that Wrexham are currently the eighth most popular club in the UK.
A total of 37 per cent of people approached by the polling company said they viewed the Red Dragons in a positive light, compared to 14 per cent who disliked the team. A further 33 per cent expressed a neutral opinion.
The figures covering the third quarter of this year put them ahead of the likes of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the popularity stakes, as well as giants like Manchester United and Arsenal.
Meanwhile, manager Phil Parkinson thinks they can still partly lay claim to underdog status as they battle big-spenders Birmingham City and former top-flight outfit Bolton Wanderers for promotion.
In an episode of the Men in Blazers podcast released yesterday, he said: “Last year and the year before, when Wrexham came to town, we were perceived as the big club.
“When you go to Bolton now and places like that, that’s not the case. They’re clubs who’ve been in the Premiership, and look at themselves as huge clubs and should be at least in the Championship.
“I think we have got the underdog card a little bit and we’ve got to keep using that.”
