Football
WREXHAM star Ollie Palmer has stressed the club are not getting carried away despite their “great start” to life back in League One
Wrexham's Ollie Palmer emphasizes the importance of staying grounded despite their strong start in League One. With wins against Wycombe and Reading, the team remains focused on the challenges ahead.
Image Credits: Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images
Phil Parkinson’s outfit secured back-to-back promotions as they finished second behind Stockport County last season.
It’s early days, but both sides have acquitted themselves well in the third tier with the Hatters sitting top with a perfect record and Wrexham in fourth.
The Dragons are competing at this level for the first time in two decades and have beaten Wycombe Wanderers and Reading either side of a goalless draw against Bolton Wanderers.
Hitman Palmer opened his account for the season before further goals from Elliot Lee and Andrew Cannon finished the job against Reading on Saturday.
And the 32-year-old told SportsBoom: “It’s only three games in, no-one can get carried away.
We’ve played three, top League One teams, so it’s not been an easy start at all.
Ollie Palmer
“I don’t think there have been any easy games, but I feel we have played some of the biggest teams in this league.
“Wycombe have just come down from the Championship a few seasons ago, Bolton have been trying to get promoted out of this league for the last couple of seasons and Reading are a fantastic team who had a massive points deduction last season and still did extremely well. They will be looking to be fighting at the right end of the table without a doubt this season.
"That’s all it is. It’s a great start, nothing more and nothing less.
Image Credits: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“That’s what this team’s always done, especially since I’ve been here and from what I’ve seen.
“There’s a great togetherness in the group and that’s continued into our League One start.”
Prolific Reds’ marksman Palmer has bagged 40 league goals since moving to the Racecourse Ground as a record signing back in the January of 2022.
But a frustrating calf injury over the Christmas period last season has given him a different perspective on his career.
Instead of being fixated by numbers, the forward is more interested in maintaining his fitness and contributing to the team in different ways this term.
I don’t have any personal aims for the season, not at all.
Ollie Palmer
“The main goal is for the team to be fighting at the right end of the table.
“But just for me, it’s about being as fit as I can and helping the team as much as I can.
“I had a spell out of the team through injury, through January and February last season. So from that day really I took a different outlook on it.
“I realised I wanted to play every game and realised what I needed to do to make sure that could happen.
“It might not happen this season. I don’t think anyone will play every game because we’ve got a big squad here.
“It’s about being focused and ready and doing what you need to do for the team to be successful.
It’s obviously a very competitive league. I don’t think anyone in our dressing room is putting any individual pressure on themselves to do anything. It’s not that type of group.
Ollie Palmer
“I’d rather have everyone chipping in with the goals rather than having one individual standout goalscorer and not picking up the points.
“I think it’s all about the boys contributing in their own way, for the team, whether it’s clean sheets, goals, work rate.”
Shane is an experienced sports journalist with over a decade on the front line, covering everything from football to horse racing. A familiar face in the snooker pressroom, his work regularly appears in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, and Daily Star, alongside SportsBoom.
While snooker is where many readers know him best, cricket is his true sporting passion, though he tends to keep that side of him separate from his professional beat.
A staunch traditionalist, he’s unlikely to share your enthusiasm if you believe The Hundred is the future of Test cricket.