A former Wrexham goalkeeper whose wages were paid by fans when the club was at rock bottom has expressed his delight at their current success.

Norwegian stopper Marius Rovde joined the Red Dragons in January 2002 at a time when the club was strapped for cash and battling against relegation from the old Division Two.

His 12 appearances under Denis Smith coincided with an improvement in form, but it was not enough to escape the drop at the end of the 2001/02 season.

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While Rovde then returned to his native Norway to play for Premier Division side Lillestrom, he has never forgotten his spell at Wrexham after forming a close bond with supporters.

The former soldier moved into coaching after retiring from playing, working with the likes of the Vancouver Whitecaps and Minnesota United in the MLS.

It was during his stint in Vancouver that Rovde met Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds around a decade before he bought Wrexham.

The 52-year-old has hailed the impact the Deadpool star and co-owner Rob McElhenney have had on the club after returning to the city last year.

Explaining how his connection with Wrexham first started, Rovde said: “I was in Scotland playing for Ayr United in the Championship at the time and it was a good team, and we were doing really well.

“The manager was a former Rangers player, and he was a happy guy, but then they brought in a super old school manager.

“He would come in and scream in the dressing room and suddenly I was not even training with the club. Then Wrexham came along and they were in trouble, but said they could probably sort something out.

“I didn't know anything about Wrexham at the time, and I just jumped in the car and drove down for what was a five or six hour drive.”

Rovde was warmly greeted by Smith on arrival and also made friends with Wrexham legend Joey Jones during a successful trial period.

The keeper only received living expenses from the club to begin, until the Wrexham Independent Supporters Group (WINS) stepped in to provide funds.

Rovde said: “The fans had collected money for me to stay and so I could pay for food for my kids. The fans were unreal and I felt so connected to them.

“It wasn’t a massive amount, but it was massive for me, because it was enough for me to pay my mortgage and for food for my kids in Scotland.”

Wrexham were reliant on young keepers Kristian Rogers and David Walsh before Rovde's arrival.

The Norwegian said the rookies often received an ear-bashing from their experienced teammates, but the tables were quickly turned.

He said: “Kristian Rogers was a talented, young kid but he got a lot of blame from the team for not doing well.

“Every time he was playing, he had Brian Carey and Dennis Lawrence looking over their shoulders and shaking their heads. It was a lot of pressure, but it changed when I came in.

“If we let in a goal, they didn't want to look over their shoulder at me because I was fuming.”

Rovde was disappointed at how the season ended and said manager Smith left him in no doubt about the club's dire financial situation.

He was therefore encouraged to take the opportunity with Lillestrom, who had just qualified for the Champions League.

After hanging up his gloves, Rovde coached with the Trinidad and Tobago national team, where he occasionally came across former Wrexham teammates Dennis Lawrence, Carlos Edwards and Hector Sam.

It was following his switch to the MLS that he bumped into Ryan Reynolds, who he praised for his grounded attitude.

Rovde said: “I was at Vancouver for six seasons. Little did I know that when I joined, you had Michael Buble and Ryan Reynolds from Vancouver, who were Whitecaps fans. It was in 2012 or 2013 that we met Ryan Reynolds up in the executive box.

“He gave me the impression even back then that he was so normal and such a down to earth guy. He was so excited and just like a fan - he wasn't putting on a show or anything. Rob McElhenney is a similar guy and everything is so successful because they have values and morals.”

Rovde finally returned to Wrexham last year while his wife was visiting nearby Chester on a business trip. He soon rekindled his connection with the fans after stopping off at The Turf pub.

He said: “I felt like a stranger at first, but then the lady behind the bar said ‘I’ve seen you before’.

“Then four or five guys further along the bar stopped talking and looked up. Straight away, one of them said ‘It’s our big Norwegian goalkeeper’.

“After that, I never looked back and they were paying for my beers. There were pictures of Joey Jones on the wall and I felt like I was home.

“I’m almost emotional talking about it, because it was like meeting my old best friends. I owe them a part of my life for helping me out when I needed it and I wanted to repay that.”

Rovde now works in football administration as an executive director with Minnesota-based Bloomington United and still keeps in touch with his friends from The Turf.

He has praised Reynolds and McElhenney for turning Wrexham's fortunes around and backed the Hollywood duo to achieve their dream of taking the club to the Premier League.

He said: “I think it's 100 per cent realistic. They have been so clever to get help from the right people and have put good people in place to build it.

“If they continue running it this way, why can't Wrexham become a hybrid between Bournemouth and Brighton?

"The life of being a Wrexham supporter has been very dramatic, but it's a great story. With all the suffering they have gone through for so many years, it's like they’re now getting repaid.”