'Surprise Wrexham departure left me hurt - but I missed one glaring warning sign' - The Mirror

A player who was released by Wrexham at the end of last season and has since quit football altogether says he still has fond memories of his time at the Racecourse Ground

Steven Fletcher has confessed he loved his stint at Wrexham but will hang up his boots for good following his surprising departure from the club. The former Premier League striker was shown the door by the Red Dragons at the conclusion of last season despite playing his part in two of their three successive promotions.

The 38-year-old bagged eight goals in 40 League One outings last campaign, frequently appearing as a substitute, as Wrexham clinched automatic promotion. However, manager Phil Parkinson considered the former Scotland international expendable as he started planning for Championship football.

Fletcher, who previously starred in the top tier with Burnley, Wolves and Sunderland, revealed in an Instagram post in May that he was leaving "with a heavy heart" and "not by choice". He has since decided to call time on his career despite fielding multiple approaches from English and Scottish clubs to extend his playing days.

Despite his original dismay at his Wrexham exit, Fletcher acknowledged he has now accepted the decision and understands why Parkinson opted against retaining his services.

"I thought I would have stayed after the season I'd had personally," Fletcher told former Wrexham favourites Ben Foster and Ben Tozer on 'That Wrexham Podcast'. "I thought I'd done well and I thought I still had enough to offer the team and the club.

"It hurt me to start with. You're a footballer, you've got pride and you're thinking, 'I'm still good enough to play here.' But I look at it now and I can probably tell why that was his decision. There were 27 pros still contracted at the time and it was only a 25-man squad.

"I knew there was going to be a big overhaul of new players coming in, which would probably have taken that player count up to about 30. I thought if anyone's going to go, it'll be the old boy that gets pushed out first."

Parkinson signed 13 new players during the summer at a total cost of around £33million, including Wales striker Kieffer Moore. The 33-year-old has so far scored nine goals in 16 appearances for Wrexham and Fletcher subsequently believes the manager has replaced his physical presence up front to good effect.

He has returned to the Racecourse Ground a couple of times to cover their games as a TV pundit this season. However, Fletcher admitted he struggled to accept the decision to release him when it was first announced, with his friends and family also left in disbelief.

"I phoned my agent first because we thought I was staying," he said. "I phoned him and I was like, 'Oh, I've just been released.' He was like, 'Good one.' He actually thought I was kidding.

"I phoned my family and they also thought I was kidding because I do like to wind people up. But I've got over it now. I'm at peace with it. I'm retired and I'm playing golf every day so I can't complain.

"I had quite a lot of offers in England and I had quite a few up in Scotland. When you get a phone call from a team, if you feel that little buzz, where you're thinking, 'This is the right thing.' I did not feel that once with any of the phone calls. When I didn't get that, I knew it was time to hang up my boots."

Fletcher's contributions to Wrexham were clearly appreciated by the club's Hollywood co-owners. Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds expressed his sadness at Fletcher's departure on social media, stating he would miss his "leadership and wit".

The former striker maintains a deep affection for the club, describing his time at Wrexham as the pinnacle of his distinguished career.

He said: "People ask me all the time, especially now I've retired, what was your biggest highlight and what was your best team? I know it's easy for me to say, because it's so raw, but it was the most enjoyable two years of my career.

"Honestly, I've played in the Premier League, I've played in cup finals and I've played in France and nothing compares. I don't know, it just does something to you. From day one when I came in, I was like, 'This place is brilliant.'".

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