Wrexham will make their much-awaited return to The Rock when they host Swansea City on Sunday, but for the first time it will properly feel like home.
The Red Dragons had been renting the Rhosymedre venue during their first two seasons in the Genero Adran Premier, but bought the stadium off Cefn Druids in the summer to secure what the club described as ‘a long-term permanent home’.
However, with a number of improvements needing to be made to The Rock to meet top-flight criteria, Jenny Sugarman’s side have played their home matches so far this season at The Globe in Buckley, in addition to facing Barry Town United at The Racecourse.
Now, Wrexham’s new Director of Women’s Football, Mark Swales, is one of many who is looking forward to seeing the club back in their own home.
“It’s been a while coming, and this is going to be a starting point for what the future will look like,” Swales says. “The most important thing in the short term was to get The Rock to a place where we can be where we are heading into Sunday, which is hosting a game.
“We’ve been really lucky to have played at Buckley Town for the last few games and the people there have been amazing. Everyone has been asking when we’re coming back, and here we are.”
Swales was appointed to his role last month, having previously worked at both Chelsea and most recently the English FA.
He has arrived with Wrexham enjoying an impressive campaign, with the Red Dragons currently second in the Genero Adran Premier – only behind leaders Cardiff City on goal difference.
“I’m loving it!” he says of his time in north Wales so far. “It’s been everything that everyone has promised me it would be, which is a club with real ambition and has amazing people who want to go that extra mile to help make the club more successful than it already has been over the last few years.
“I can’t thank the fans enough for the way they’ve welcomed me into their town, and everyone sends you their best wishes. The role itself is a blank canvas to a certain extent. No one has done this role at Wrexham before, so coming in to build on the good work that Gemma Owen and others have done over the last few years is where I am.
“I’m only six weeks in, so still in that early phase of learning where we are and what we want to achieve.”
The first step in the Wrexham project was to move back to The Rock, which Swales explains has been a long process, but the club wanted to make sure time was taken to get things right behind the scenes.
“It’s always been about time for us. We could have gone in very quickly and just patch things up in a sense. Where we are today is probably completing phase one which is building up a little more of the infrastructure behind the scenes.
“People will come at the weekend and probably see on the outside that it doesn’t look much different. It’ll look a little tidier, it’s been painted and all those key things, but it’s the infrastructure that we’ve really had to focus on. We’ve had to make sure the electrical side, the floodlights, the stand and all those requirements we had to meet were met.
“The pitch took a little longer to get certified as well, but again, we wanted to make sure that we did it to the best standard possible. We’ve got a vision of what we want The Rock to look like in 18 months to two years’ time, and it will be very different to what it looks like now.”
With the stage set, a capacity crowd is set to descend on Rhosymedre to see Jenny Sugarman’s side take on third-place Swansea in a pivotal game in the Genero Adran Premier.
Wrexham are known for their passionate fanbase, and Swales was full of praise for the supporters who travel far and wide to watch their team.
“For me, the one thing I underestimated before starting the job was just how passionate the fans are. I knew the town loved their football, but to see the group of fans that literally travel everywhere around the country is sensational.
“There were more Wrexham fans at Pontypridd than there were Pontypridd fans, and that’s no disrespect to Pontypridd. It just shows how dedicated our fans are to travel the length of the country. It’s really exciting to be able to welcome them home.
“I’m hopeful we get a big crowd there, and then it’s our job to keep them there going forward. We’ve got four games at home in a row now, so we’ve got a great opportunity to do just that.”
For those supporters who are still weighing up whether to go to the game or not, Swales has a simple message for them.
“History only happens once, and history this weekend is Wrexham Women returning back to The Rock. Their first game back in their own home.
“All credit to those who have worked so hard to make it a home, but now it’s ours and we have an opportunity to create history by building on that facility and making it our own.
“We know we have that twelfth player, and this weekend of all weekends, we need that twelfth player on that pitch to make the environment as enthusiastic and as exciting for the players as much as we can.”
