Chris Llewellyn would have swapped LDV Vans Trophy glory for staying up with Wrexham AFC

Denis Smith's mid-table side had ambitions of challenging for the League One play-offs during the 2004-05 season but off-the-field problems meant the club was forced into administration and plummeted into the drop zone.

Amid the battle to stay in the third tier, Wrexham managed to progress to the LDV Vans Trophy final where the Reds beat Southend 2-0 at The Millennium Stadium.

Heading to Cardiff and winning a trophy was the highlight of a rollercoaster campaign for Llewellyn.

"It was a strange season with lots of highs and lots of lows," said Llewellyn.

"But when you go through the list of players, that was a very good team.

"Halfway through the season we were thinking about possibly getting in the play-offs but the 10 point deduction threw us a bit. That altered our season.

"But the cup competition was a nice distraction for the players and a bit of a boost financially for the club."

Wrexham eventually lost their battle to beat the drop and Llewellyn would have preferred to stay in League One rather than lifting the cup.

He recalled during the run to the final: "I can remember talking with the lads and someone said: 'would you rather be relegated or win the LDV Vans Trophy'?

"Some players were saying they would rather go to the Millennium Stadium and win a big trophy, get relegated and come back the next season.

"Players just think it is going to be easy to come back up!

"But I was one of the ones who said they would rather stay in a higher league.

"Every player is different but it has been downhill for Wrexham since then."

Llewellyn had two spells at The Racecourse and also played for Norwich, Bristol Rovers, Wrexham, Hartlepool and Grimsby in the Football League.

Having also won six caps for Wales, Llewellyn enjoyed an illustrious career but heading to the Millennium Stadium with Wrexham in April 2005 was the only time that he played at the iconic ground.

But the 40-year-old still feels strike partner Juan Ugarte should have passed to him in a better position when the scoreline was deadlocked.

"It was a big boost for everyone to play at The Millennium Stadium and in front of a decent crowd," said Llewellyn.

"I had been in Wales squads but never actually played a match there so it was the first and only time I played there.

"It meant a lot to me but it would have meant a lot more if Juan had passed the ball after I had run 70 yards and I had an open goal instead of shooting, but never mind!

"That was at 0-0 and all my mates had a bet on me to score the first goal so they weren't too happy but I am glad he never passed it because I would probably have missed it anyway!

"But it was a really proud moment for me playing there. I had about 20 members of my family there, it was a big family day out and as a proud Welshman playing for a Welsh club, we created history for Wrexham.

"I can't believe it is 15 years ago, time flies."

Ugarte did open the scoring in extra-time and captain Darren Ferguson secured victory in the closing minutes.

Llewellyn admits Wrexham, despite battling for their lives in their division, were confident of beating League Two high-fliers Southend.

"Every time you cross that white line you want to win and we were lucky that we won a few matches in the cup to allow us to get to a final," added Llewellyn.

"That was the only final I ever played in apart from youth team games and the FAW Premier Cup.

"It was nerve-racking but as soon as the game got underway, we were confident of winning.

"I think everyone was writing us off because we were in a false position in the league and Southend were at the top of the division below.

"In lots of peoples eyes they were the favourites.

"But we had Fergie in midfield, Carlos Edwards was a good player, big Dennis Lawrence was at the back and we had a future England player in Ben Foster in goal so we were a solid team throughout and we were confident of beating anyone; not just the league below but the league we played in."