James McClean took a swipe at his former Wrexham teammates and manager Phil Parkinson as he reflected on his exit from the club earlier this year.

The former Wrexham captain scored eight goals in 108 appearances for the club and played a key role in two promotions, helping take the Welsh side from League Two to the Championship. When he returned to Derry City in January, McClean praised Wrexham for their “absolute touch of class” in handling his departure. However, there may have been more to it than initially appeared.

In his explosive new memoir, The Walls, McClean reflects on his successful spell in North Wales and makes no secret of his frustration at playing only a minor role toward the end of it. He criticizes Parkinson’s tactical approach while also taking aim at some former teammates and what he believes were declining standards as the club climbed the divisions.

James McClean Ranted at Phil Parkinson and Former Teammates

McClean agreed to a severance deal with Wrexham when he brought his two-and-a-half-year spell at the club to an end at the start of 2026. His final months in North Wales had been clouded by an incident in which he punched a Cardiff City fan in the club’s car park before Wrexham’s Carabao Cup defeat in October 2025, a match in which he was an unused substitute.

The 37-year-old had seen his playing time reduced since Wrexham’s promotion from League One, but he returned to the starting lineup in November and captained the club in seven consecutive league matches before he was sidelined due to suspension. He subsequently lost his place at left wingback to makeshift midfielder George Thomason. His final act for Wrexham was missing a penalty in the FA Cup shootout victory over Nottingham Forest in January.

Much of McClean’s playing time last season came after the Cardiff City incident, but he viewed his reduced role in that match as the beginning of the end of his time at Wrexham.

“The team is s---. The tactics are s---. The atmosphere has gone to s---,” McClean writes in The Walls over his lack of playing time.

“I’m telling him [agent Graham Barrett] that what we had over the last two seasons was special, but that’s all gone. I’ve had a chat with one of the support staff about how there’s gear left all over the dressing-room floor now. That wasn’t happening last year. But we’ve got lads now who expect people to go around picking stuff up after them. It’s the big things and the little things. Cardiff ran all over us. Laughed in our faces. Elbowing lads. The crowd was crying out for a player to hit someone with a few tackles.

“I’m talking about me.

“Instead, I’m training with the youth team tomorrow. And I’ve found out the club has had a few of the senior players in to discuss a couple of things about the group. I’m the f------ captain and it’s the first I’ve heard of it. They ran everything past me last season. But when you don’t play, you’re invisible.

“‘I’m setting a 7:30 a.m. alarm to go and train with a bunch of kids, Graham,’ I say. ‘Do you know how embarrassing that is? You’re the 36-year-old f------ captain of the club and you’re training with a bunch of f------ kids while the others who’ve been absolutely f------ crap are sitting in the f------ sauna and f------ ice baths f------ chilling out. I can’t get into a team that is f------ crap and not even winning.’”

What Ryan Reynolds Texted James McClean Before Wrexham Exit

When reflecting on his final months at Wrexham, McClean revealed he received a text message from co-chairman Ryan Reynolds praising his character and describing him as a role model for his own children.

“Ryan texted me the other day. ‘James, you continue to be the favorite player for the entire Reynolds family. We adore you, buddy. You’re a great example, not just to your kids, but my kids as well.’

“It was a class message. I don’t know why he wanted to send that now. Maybe they know something is coming.”

After he was suspended in the 2-1 defeat to Swansea City before Christmas, Wrexham embarked on a four-match winning run with Thomason at left wingback that lifted them up the Championship table.

With Wrexham enjoying their best run of form while their captain was out of the team, McClean soon realized his time in North Wales was coming to an end.

“The team is gelling a lot better now. I can’t deny it,” he said. “When results weren’t going well, the new lads were giving off about the manager and his style, and I f------ hated that they were being picked over lads that had been loyal to him.

“But they are good players, and they have adapted and improved as a collective. Phil has made them tick. The dynamic changes when boys on £30,000 or £40,000 a week are around the group, yet they are mostly good lads, and they are building their own bond.”