Wrexham chief executive Michael Williamson admitted to being left "exhausted" as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s side continue to chase their Premier League dream. The man tasked with turning the wild English top-flight ambition into reality has lifted the lid on the relentless pressure of managing one of the world’s most-watched football clubs.
Wrexham's firestorm behind the fairytale
Williamson is a former Inter Milan executive who joined the club in the summer of 2024, immediately after Wrexham sealed their rise from League Two. Less than a year later, they made it three promotions in a row, storming into the Championship. Now, as the co-owners set their sights on the Premier League, Williamson has revealed the heavy toll of that meteoric rise.
AdvertisementGetty/GOAL"I Haven’t Slept in Weeks"
Speaking candidly on with former players Ben Foster and Ben Tozer, Williamson described his 18 months in charge as "like drinking from a fire hose".
"Probably the best way to describe it is like drinking from a fire hose," he said. "I feel like the last 18 months has just been taking all the momentum that's been built up over the last couple of years, with the documentary and the success on the pitch, and trying to build the foundations around that to make sure it's sustainable in the long term. We ultimately want to keep pushing ourselves and keep trying to move up the pyramid."
Despite the glitz and glamour surrounding Wrexham’s rise, Williamson painted a picture of intense personal strain.
"It is an exhausting job," he admitted. "I take things very seriously. I'm constantly thinking, analysing and obviously have worries, but I don't stress. The important part of it is trying to take a step back. It doesn't mean I don't have a problem sleeping at night, I do. I suffer from insomnia and haven't been sleeping in the last three weeks."
When he first walked through the doors of the Racecourse Ground, Williamson found a club riding the wave of global fame. However, behind the scenes was an overstretched, under-resourced operation waiting to crumble. There were just 40 permanent staff, and since he held the reins, the number has swelled to 120. The scale of the task hit him immediately. The growth had been explosive, which was primarily driven by success on the pitch, the Welcome to Wrexham series, and their growing global fanbase, but their infrastructure was years behind.
"We previously had people who were doing six, seven or eight jobs at the club, and it's just not sustainable for the speed that we're moving at," Williamson said.
Building Wrexham fit for the top flight
Under Williamson’s direction, Wrexham are now racing to catch up on the field. The construction of a new 7,750-capacity Kop stand has been fast-tracked, while a state-of-the-art academy and a dedicated women’s team facility are also in the pipeline. This summer alone, the club spent a record-breaking £33 million on 13 new signings, which underlines the ambition fuelling the club.
"We're trying to build a football club that is a community-based organisation, but to arrive at the Premier League and ultimately stay there," he said.
He stressed that money alone isn’t enough, and the real challenge is protecting the club’s culture.
"I think the challenge is making sure everyone understands what the DNA and the values of the club are," he said. "You have to understand when you're coming into a club like Wrexham that you have to be humble to learn what it means to be a part of Wrexham."
While the short-term focus is on stability in the Championship, Williamson knows the real goal is years away.
"We're having to invest in a squad on the pitch because of the consequences of back-to-back-to-back promotions. That's also rooted in the fact that we don't have an academy pipeline historically," he said.
"We're starting to see the foundations of what the academy can be, and the type of investment into that is critical for long-term success. But we're talking about five to seven years before some of those things are seen."
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For Williamson, the job has been a personal upheaval as well as a professional one, since he had to relocate his family from Miami to North Wales.
"That's one area that took a little time to settle in, all honestly," he said. "As far as the office goes, that was one of those things where I just came in and I sat and I listened. I tried to ask questions and I tried to create a positive environment as I think there were definitely some morale concerns within the club."
On the pitch, Wrexham’s first few months in the Championship were a wake-up call. The team struggled initially to adapt to the higher tempo and physicality of the division. But under Phil Parkinson, they have steadied the ship, and most recently grinded out a hard-fought draw against Portsmouth away from home. And Williamson insisted the squad is improving with every game.
He said, "If you look at where we are right now, we are very competitive. We have been competitive in every single match that we've played in the Championship. In fact, if you look back on it, we could be sitting on 10 or 12 more points right now. That's how difficult it gets, and it's a game of moments. There are moments where 13 new players are all kind of feeling each other out a little bit, and it's only going to get better. That's what I'm excited about."
Wrexham sit 14th in the Championship with 18 points, and their next challenge comes on Saturday against Charlton Athletic at the Racecourse Ground.
