Welcome To Wrexham: Declan Swans, Hamilton and goalkeepers on eps 5 and 6

The series, being released two episodes a week on Dinsey Plus, has received rave reviews so far from viewers and critics alike.

It follows the journey of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney's takeover of Wrexham AFC and also gives an interesting insight into the lives of some of the club's most loyal supporters.

Episodes five and six of Welcome To Wrexham are available to watch from today (Thursday, September 8).

Here's five things we learnt from episodes five and six...

1 Declan Swans are overcoming all sorts of obstacles and moving on up!

PIC: Declan Swans with Dafydd Iwan and Bootlegger at the Wrexham Lager Festival.

Episode five begins with the three-piece band, who have been together for over 20 years, rehearsing their 'Always Sunny In Wrexham' hit - which is currently being sold on vinyl due to its popularity.

The band talk of how they came to realise that the song had become popular among Wrexham fans.

Drummer Ben Jones recalls going out to the pub and hearing people sing it there, while also hearing '20 lads walking down the street' shouting it out.

Guitarist Mark Jones adds: "Nobody's ever sung any of our songs before, it makes you proud really."

The episode then takes a sadder turn when it laters turns its attention to Declan Swans' singer Michael Hett's cancer battle.

Known as 'Scoot', Michael opens up on going through chemotherapy after a tumour was discovered on his colon.

In a scene filmed in his home along with wife Wendy, he tells her, while drawing up a bucket list, that 'seeing Wrexham get promoted back to the football league' is at the top of that list.

And later, while talking about what thoughts have been running through his head during chemo, Michael says he thought: "I can't go yet, I've gotta see Wrexham get promoted." 

2 Goalkeepers are pretty important!

Gemma Thomas (Image: Gemma Thomas)

PIC: Rob Lainton makes that penalty save against Chesterfield. Picture by Gemma Thomas.

It's a position in football which is often overlooked and under-appreciated, but episode five of Welcome To Wrexham gives goalkeepers their moment in the spotlight.

We see Wrexham AFC goalkeeper coach Lee Butler putting the goalkeepers union of Rob Lainton, Christian Dibble and Dawid Szczepaniak through their paces in a training session.

Manager Phil Parkinson then summarises the importance of a goalkeeper to a football team, by saying: "Your goalkeeper has gotta be one you feel can produce a match-winning save."

3 It's not always been so promising and 4 Wrexham fans are pretty amazing

Wrexham AFC (Image: Wrexham AFC)

PIC: Brighter times are on the horizon now for Wrexham AFC - but it certainly hasn't always been like that.

It's a name that sends shivers down the spine of every Wrexham fan - Alex Hamilton. And, it's one that crops up a lot in episode six as the club's previous troubles are re-called.

It shows Ryan and Rob setting out to get the Racecourse back into the hands of the football club itself, with Rob adding that he hopes to 'return the stadium back to being the jewel of north Wales'.

Old footage of the controversy surrounding Hamilton is shown from the much darker days of the club's past.

The tale of how fans gathered in Cheshire - where Hamilton lived - to protest is also told as well as how they collected £127,00 in one day to eventually rescue the club from going extinct.

5 The club is the beating heart of the community

PIC: Painter and decorator Shaun Winter was back once again on the latest episodes.

And of course, it wouldn't be Welcome To Wrexham without the club's fans getting their chance to have a say on matters and episodes five and six are no different to the others in that respect.

We meet a range of vibrant and passionate Wrexham characters once more.

There were some returning favourites from much-loved Turf pub landlord Wayne Jones to the straight-talking Shaun Winter, a painter and decorator who proved to be a hit with fans in previous episodes of the series.

But we also had the chance to meet some faces we haven't yet met too.

Like 96-year-old Arthur Massey, who has been going to watch Wrexham play since 1931 and says he's seen the 'very highs and the very lows'.

Episode five introduces viewers to Annette Gardner, a volunteer and supporter of Wrexham AFC.

She says that herself and friends Jen, Janet and Sheila - known as the 'Dragons' can always be seen at matches with their 'pie, chips and gravy'.

Annette reveals that her husband died ten years ago, leaving her alone with two children, aged 12 and 14, to take care of.

She says that the 'football family' she has befriended at Wrexham have helped her through her darkest days. She adds: "It's far more than a game of football, it's about being here with your football family."