The 22nd April – not for the first time in the club’s long and eventful history – could prove to be a red letter day for Wrexham AFC.

The club’s 87-year stay in the Football League came to an end with a 2-0 defeat at Hereford’s Edgar Street.

The date? 22 April 2008.

“I’ll be totally candid, it’s been like a monkey on my back that I’m desperate to shake off,” said former Wrexham striker Neil Roberts, a member of Brian Little’s team that suffered relegation that evening.

“Because I was part of the squad, I was also captain and you kind of amplify that by being a local lad as well.”

Dropping out of the Football League was in stark contrast to the club’s golden era in the 1970s.

The club had become a renowned FA Cup team under manager John Neal but promotion to the Second Division eluded them.

But under Neal’s successor Arfon Griffiths, Wrexham finally achieved that elusive feat and secured promotion to English football’s second tier with a 7-1 win over Rotherham United.

The date? 22 April 1978.

“I do remember that 7-1 because that was a great year for Wrexham,” said Mickey Thomas, a member of the 1977-78 side which also reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.

“It was a great team, great players and you talk about legends – everyone who played in that game were proper legends, there’s no question about that.

“Dai Davies, who has passed away now, Bobby Shinton – what a player he was, Mel Sutton. You could go right through the team.

“Obviously getting the Championship and winning it in emphatic style by 7-1, I mean, you couldn’t get better than that, could you?”

Thomas would leave Wrexham for Manchester United a few months later and a year later appeared in the FA Cup final, one of the highlights of a colourful career with a number of clubs.

But Wrexham remains the club closest to Thomas’ heart.

“When they first went down I didn’t really believe that it would be that long and we’d bounce straight back,” Thomas told BBC Sport Wales.

“But unfortunately that didn’t happen and there’s a lot of things that have gone on in that time – the club nearly went out of existence.”

Wrexham’s fortunes took a turn for the better when Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the Welsh club in February 2021.

“Looking in from the outside now, it’s incredible what’s happened,” Thomas said,

“Wrexham is alive, they’ve brought everyone back and everyone’s smiling.

“Rob and Ryan, for me, it’s incredible what they’ve done. They’ve changed everything, they’ve changed the fortunes for the better and it’s gone from strength to strength.”

Under manager Phil Parkinson, Wrexham go into Saturday’s penultimate league game of the season four points clear of rivals Notts County.

“What I’ve witnessed from the way Phil and the players have approached this season is there’s a real belief amongst them,” Roberts told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

“I love the way Phil has approached everything. He’s very unassuming but behind the scenes he’s super, super passionate.

“I think that’s coming to the fore now and you see it in the players. We’ve got some real match winners in the team, obviously Paul Mullin, Elliot Lee.”

Thomas will be at the early evening game as a summariser for BBC Radio Wales and believes Wrexham can seal promotion at the historic Racecourse Ground.

“It’s their biggest game since they dropped out of the Football League and it will be a special occasion,” Thomas said.

“I’m nervous but I believe the 11 players he puts out will win the game.

“Obviously there’s Torquay away still to come but I’d like them to get it done and dusted in front of the fans, who can have a special night.”

Roberts added: “I’m not overly confident but I am confident going in to the game and we have got more than enough in that team to get over the line.

“If and when it happens, I’m not ashamed to say that I will probably shed a tear or two, just to get us back to where we do genuinely belong.”