WREXHAM started the Adran Premier League season aiming to be competitive.

They ended it as one of the country’s top-three clubs and were runners-up in the Welsh Cup too!

That line does little to tell the story of the Reds’ first season in the top flight but Steve Dale’s side were able to make an impact straight from the off.

The opening day 3-3 draw at home to multiple champions Swansea City demonstrated Wrexham meant business following promotion from the Adran North League, while the third-placed finishers weren’t beaten by any of the clubs that finished up below them in the table.

Work still needs to be done, though, as that draw was the only point Wrexham managed to pick up in their various meetings with Cardiff City and Swansea, this season’s respective champions and runners-up.

However, the Reds pushed Cardiff hard in the season-ending Welsh Cup final, with the Bluebirds claiming a domestic treble after a 2-0 triumph.

Dale said: “I think we have come a long way. Early on in phase one we got off to a really good start and then things got a little bit tougher as teams had done their homework on us.

“It was a bit of a slog coming into the back end of phase one but we rolled our sleeves up and changed things again.

“You have to credit the girls for the way that they have conducted themselves this season. We had new additions in terms of backroom staff as well which has obviously helped us, there have been a couple of times that we have had to win in the final minutes and that’s down to the hard work that Zoe (Clair) puts in with the players from a fitness perspective.

“The addition of Connor (Hindley) too from the analysis element has totally changed us and allowed us to do our homework and really come together as a group of staff to pinpoint a game plan that is going to make us successful.

“If you look at phase two and the way that we changed shape to combat against the best two we weren’t far away against Swansea and should’ve got something out of both games there.”

For Wrexham’s players’ player of the season Phoebe Davies, the performance of the team showed that they were capable of making the step-up from the Adran North League from early in the season, despite some difficult moments.

She told the club’s YouTube channel: “I think when I stopped playing football just over three years ago to have my daughter, I didn’t think I’d be standing here today.

“You know, at the start of the season, I had some really difficult games in the sense of it was a big step-up for me.

“I had a lot of other commitments. I was finding it difficult to commit at the start of the season, but... you figure things out and come out the other end and I think by the time the season had started, myself and the group of girls, we came out of the blocks, really putting performances (in).

“I didn’t expect to be here with this award today. Three years ago, 12 months ago, definitely not, but I think I’ve come a long way throughout the season and I’ve enjoyed it along the way.”