Premier League Push May Take A Few Years - Ratcliffe

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Wrexham may need to consolidate in the Championship for a few seasons before they're ready to push for the Premier League, says former Wales captain Kevin Ratcliffe.

Having just achieved an historic third successive promotion, Wrexham are hoping to complete an extraordinary journey from National League to Premier League backed by the financial clout of film star owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The Hollywood pair are expected to provide boss Phil Parkinson with more funds to make them a force in the Championship, but Ratcliffe says it is unrealistic to think Wrexham could go up for a fourth year in a row.

"I think it's going to take a few seasons," said Ratcliffe, who has seen a lot of the Red Dragons this season in his role as a BBC Radio Wales Sport pundit, including their 2-0 win at Lincoln City on the final day.

"Because you're going to need a whole new squad maybe in that time.

"I think there'll be a whole squad difference in the next two years. There will be fragments of this (current) squad playing."

Parkinson has already shown a ruthless edge in his attempts to upgrade the squad, leaving out fan favourites Paul Mullin and Ollie Palmer altogether on matchdays following the January arrival of strikers Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez.

The Wrexham boss says those two out-of-favour "legends" will be involved in the club's pre-season, but it is hard to envisage either playing a big role in 2025-26 given their recent exclusion.

"If Wrexham want to get into the Premier League they've got to get better players in," said Ratcliffe.

"That's what they have done every season. Even if they're like-for-like they've been better players than the ones who've been left out.

"It's hard to think you're going to get anyone better than Paul Mullin, but then in comes Smith and you see that extra bit of fizz.

"They're definitely going to have to find a 20-goal-a-year man to play at Championship level. Is Smith that man? I'm not quite sure yet.

"Fletcher's been there and done it, but is he going to be there next year? I'm not quite sure how that one works.

"They've got the nucleus of a squad there, but what they need now is that extra little bit of quality that's going to give you that next push."