WREXHAM have appointed former Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson as their new manager on a 12-month rolling contract.

The 53-year-old, who left the Black Cats in November last year, fought off over 60 other candidates to replace Dean Keates at the National League club.

The Red Dragons are owned by Hollywood duo Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and Parkinson was impressed by their vision for the club.

“Once the plans of the chairmen were explained to me, the decision to join Wrexham was very easy,” he told Wrexham’s website.

“Wrexham are an EFL club in all but the one thing that matters, league status, and we have a very clear objective with the work starting immediately.

“The club didn’t need selling to me, it sold itself and I wanted to be part of the journey this club is about to embark upon.”

Co-chairmen McElhenny and Reynolds said in a statement: “We’d like to thank all those that applied for the role but once we knew Phil was interested, he was our man and we got him.

“Phil has an immediate objective of gaining promotion but is conscious of our ambitions for the club and embraced each element of our vision.”

Parkinson has won three promotions in his managerial career, with Colchester, Bradford and Bolton. He has brought in Steve Parkin as his assistant.