Ex-Liverpool star admits he was 'brought up to hate' Wrexham – but his opinion has changed

Former Liverpool star has admitted having a soft spot for despite being born in the home of their most bitter rivals. The midfielder was brought up in Chester, where he said youngsters were taught to hate their Welsh neighbours.

There are only 12 miles between the city and but there is no love lost between Chester FC and the Red Dragons. The hostilities between the two teams are such that when and bought Wrexham in February 2021, one of their key pledges was "to always beat Chester".

That promise has yet to be tested as Wrexham are currently flying high in while Chester are in the National League North. More than a few envious glances will have been cast towards Wrexham from across the English border during the club's rise rise up the divisions over the last few years.

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However, one Chester native who is pleased to see them doing well is Murphy after revealing that his father, who died of lung cancer in 2006, previously lived in the Welsh city. Discussing Wrexham's recent success on , the 48-year-old pundit also lifted the lid on his time playing for their youth team during the early stages of his career.

"Whether you love or loathe the model and how they've done it, it's still a great story for us watching from afar and for me personally, because I've got an affinity with Wrexham," said Murphy.

"You're brought up so that you’re supposed to hate them if you're from Chester but actually, my dad lived there for 20 years before he passed. I was a kid at Wrexham football club as well, so I quite like seeing them do well.

"I was a mascot for Wrexham when Joey Jones was captain. We used to actually train on the car park when I was 12 and in the Wrexham under-13s, because we had no facilities."

Wrexham and Chester last played each other in a National League match at the Racecourse Ground in March 2018, which the Welsh side won 2-0. The two teams have experienced vastly different trajectories since then, with Wrexham currently second in the third tier, while Chester are fourth in the sixth tier.

Phil Parkinson's team have five games left to secure promotion to the Championship and are three points ahead of rivals Wycombe Wanderers. Wrexham will next travel to Wigan Athletic on Saturday as they look to secure the second automatic spot.

Birmingham City already look to have the title wrapped up as they sit 14 points clear of Wrexham. The Midlands side confirmed their return to the second tier with a 2-1 win over Peterborough United on Tuesday night.

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