Wrexham midfielder Matty James has called on his past promotion experience as the club faces a tense final day of the Championship season, with a play-off spot at stake. The Welsh side, currently sixth, host Middlesbrough on Saturday in a three-way battle with Hull and Derby for the last coveted position.
The permutations for Wrexham, chasing a fourth successive promotion under Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, are unusually complex. They could win and still miss out, or lose and yet secure a top-six finish.
James, 34, scored in Leicester's 3-2 final-day win at Nottingham Forest in 2013, which saw the Foxes sneak into the play-offs, only to lose to Watford via Troy Deeney's stoppage-time winner. 'We snuck in and got to sixth on the last day of the season,' he recalled. 'After that we had the play-offs against Watford, which is a retro moment on TV that pops up every now and again that I don't enjoy watching.'
Despite that disappointment, Leicester won promotion the following year. 'But we got promoted the year after and those experiences I can call upon, as well as numerous other lads who have been through the league,' James added. 'This football club is also used to winning promotions and hopefully we can bring that experience on Saturday.'
James, who joined Wrexham in October 2024 and helped them win League One last season, has been a stabilising influence despite missing two months with a broken toe. He still wears boots a couple of sizes too large due to swelling, but downplays the discomfort: 'For me it is just get your boots on, forget about it, go out there, play and perform. The adrenaline is running and I manage it through the week.'
He emphasised the significance of Wrexham's position: 'The achievement of being in this position is a big one. It's about taking the opportunity now and the message for quite a long time has been about us.' With the final whistle approaching, James insists the focus remains internal: 'I'm sure there'll be things up and around the stadium and you'll hear different things. But for us it's about concentrating on our performance and our result.'
