Phil Parkinson said a Zoom call with Rob McElhenney convinced him to take the vacant Wrexham manager's job because the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star has an 'incredible passion' to be successful.
Parkinson, 53, has been out of work since being axed by League One Sunderland in 2020.
But any doubts about whether to drop out of the Football League were squashed in one of his Zoom conversations with co-chairman McElhenney, who lives out in Los Angeles.
Wrexham have announced Phil Parkinson as their new boss for the upcoming campaign
Parkinson explained how the passion of Rob McElhenney on a Zoom call convinced him to join
'Last week I had a very long chat with [Rob] on a Zoom call,' Parkinson explained from Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.
'It was very interesting and he has an incredible passion for being successful at this football club.
'There were no worries about stepping down. Every job you go into there's an element of a gamble but sometimes you've got to back yourself and that's what I do.
'Along with Steve [Parkin, assistant manager], we looked at everything, we looked at the club, spoke with the Chairmen, looked at every part of the club, looked at the existing players, looked at the other clubs in the league and thought 'come on, let's have a real good go at this' because we've got a good chance of building something.'
Wrexham were taken over last season by actors Ryan Reynolds (left) and McElhenney (right)
Wrexham agonisingly missed out on the Vanarama National League play-offs on the final day of last season and that cost Dean Keates his job, with the ex-Walsall manager's contract left to expire.
New CEO Fleur Robinson confirmed the vacant role had more than 60 applicants but Parkinson was 'top of their list' given his pedigree in guiding multiple clubs to promotions.
'The aim is to get out of the division, I think that's clear,' Parkinson
