NOT everything went in his favour during his time at Wrexham but Jordan Ponticelli leaves The Racecourse with no regrets.

The striker is one of eight players released by manager Phil Parkinson after the Reds missed out on promotion and are planning for a 15th season in non-league.

Ponticelli originally arrived on loan from Coventry City in the second half of the 2019-20 season and scored two goals in five appearances for the relegation-threatened Reds before the campaign ended abruptly because of the coronavirus pandemic.

After making the move permanent in the summer, hamstring injuries plagued Ponticelli during 2020-21 when he scored four goals in the run-in as Wrexham missed out on the play-offs on the final day.

“I am not a guy for excuses,” said Ponticelli.

“I was fine before Covid but the next season I got injuries which weren’t great and didn’t help my game-time.

“Again, there are no excuses; it was just unfortunate, that’s the way things go and I just had to get on with it.

“We had the takeover which increased money at the club, and that led to limiting my game-time but it is what it is.”

The high-profile takeover by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney meant Parkinson, armed with an increased budget, was able to complete big name signings ahead of the 2021-22 season.

The Reds’ boss pulled out the stops to bring in prolific scorer Paul Mullin and the promotion push was given a boost with the arrival of fellow striker Ollie Palmer for a club record fee during the January transfer window.

That meant Ponticelli, completing for a place on the bench with Dior Angus, Jake Hyde and Kwame Thomas, found opportunities limited but the frontman, who scored five goals in all competitions in his final season in a Reds’ shirt, took the positives and felt he played his part in a season that offered so much.

“I thought I did well to still be involved and I thought I played a big part even with limited game-time,” said Ponticelli.

“There were games where it wasn’t going our way but I was put on and got us from losing positions to winning positions, and that all helped to get us to the play-offs.

“I thought that whenever I started and had a little run of games, I did well and made a difference not just for me getting a few goals, but I thought I helped the team and the way we played.

“I am going to take all the positives out if it.

“We probably had the biggest budget out of League Two and the National League but I was still in and around it.

“I don’t like excuses - I just work hard and see what I can get out of it - so I aren’t going to use any of them about my time at Wrexham.

“It is football, I have just got to work through it and see what that gets me.”