Ben Tozer has explained his “don’t give a sh*t response” to one of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s dressing room visits at Wrexham.

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Red Dragons suffered play-off heartache in 2022Hollywood co-owners tried to lift spiritsExperienced defender wanted nothing to do with themWHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Dragons’ Hollywood co-chairmen have made a habit of heading for the locker room during their many trips to North Wales. Their presence is normally most welcome, with the pair boasting a useful knack of putting smiles on faces. They were, however, shunned by Tozer following a gut-wrenching National League play-off defeat to Grimsby in May 2022.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT TOZER SAID

Tozer has told the podcast of his reaction to a 5-4 semi-final defeat and why he wanted nothing to do with anybody: “I felt after that Grimsby game… it was horrendous. I remember I got in and the gaffer said a few things, but at this point you’re not listening. It’s awful, but you’re not. You’re reliving what’s just gone. I was literally sat down in the showers. I didn’t want to see anyone, didn’t want to speak to anyone. I remember the owners had come into the dressing room and it was like ‘Toz, Rob and Ryan are here’. I was like, ‘I’m sorry but right now I don’t give a sh*t’. It sounds awful but I’m dealing with this in my own way. I snuck out the stadium and didn’t want to see fans. I took myself out that night on my own, had a few drinks and cleared my head. It took about three or four days. You go to a bit of a dark place actually. I felt a lot of responsibility with it, but then you have to check yourself and think ‘no, I’ve got to do what’s right now to go again’.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Wrexham did that as a collective in 2022-23, as they smashed records en route to landing the National League title, and are determined to carry on climbing the divisions. Tozer added, with Phil Parkinson’s side currently riding high in League Two: “We want to keep moving forwards, and that’s ultimately what we want to do. Whether that’s a year from now, five years from now, they [Reynolds and McElhenney] have got a long-term project and this is a stepping stone. For us, our expectation upon ourselves is promotion. We want to continue to grow as a team and as a club. Of course there are certain things outside of what we can do, but if we can continue to build that momentum as a team and a club and a family, then the sky is the limit. The club can go wherever it wants to be and do whatever it wants to do.”

Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

The intention is to reach the Premier League at some stage, with Reynolds and McElhenney making the funds available that are allowing Wrexham to bolster their ranks in every transfer window while also building off the pitch – with infrastructure and community just as important to the superstar actors filling prominent positions in the boardroom as progress on the field.