EOGHAN O’CONNELL ON WREXHAM’S PROMOTION
THE last time Eoghan O’Connell won promotion from League Two, things didn’t go as he would have liked.
For when the dust settled on Bury’s promotion from the EFL’s bottom tier in 2018-19, the scale of the club’s financial plight came fully into focus. The Shakers never did kick off the following season in League One and with deals to take them over falling through, the EFL expelled them.
Fortunately, Cork-born defender O’Connell was able to begin the season in the third tier after all, making the switch to Rochdale. However, he admits the whole episode was ‘a difficult time’.
“It was a strange one,” he recalled. “Everyone celebrated, but you had it in the back of your head that we probably wouldn’t be able to go into League One.
“I was there for two years and it was pretty obvious even in my first year that there were a lot of issues. It was clear there was trouble coming – the writing was on the wall.”
At least O’Connell shouldn’t have any similar worries this time around. He is, after all, on the books of Wrexham, the ambitious north Wales club who are cutting a swathe through English football under the ownership of their Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Having won the National League title last term in a season-long duel with Notts County, who went on to win the play-offs, the Red Dragons made sure of back-to-back promotions with a thumping 6-0 victory against basement side Forest Green Rovers at an ecstatic Racecourse Ground last weekend.
While Rovers head to the National League, Wrexham are looking forward to third tier football for the first time since 2005. The crowds are flocking in, sponsorship has gone through the roof and the Welcome to Wrexham documentary series has brought the club new fans from all over the world.
It’s no wonder that Irishman O’Connell, who took a risk by dropping down from League One with Charlton early last year, is having a ball. The centre-back took two steps down, but is now back where he started - with some great memories having been created along the way.
Pressure
“When I came in last year, there was huge pressure because of the title race – we needed to win every week,” he said. “This season has been a bit different – a bit topsy-turvy. You have to take the rough with the smooth and move on from a bad result.
“We had one or two difficult patches, but we didn’t let it affect us. We stuck at it with the goal of getting promoted and, thankfully, we have got it done.
“The celebrations were good. You play and work hard to celebrate things with the team and we had a great few days to really enjoy ourselves. When you achieve things like promoti
