The 37-year-old became a fans' favourite during two memorable campaigns at The Racecourse, playing his part in back-to-back promotions and serving as club captain as the Reds secured a place in the Championship for the first time in 43 years.

Although not always first choice last season, McClean still got regular game-time under Phil Parkinson before opting to return to his native Republic of Ireland to sign for hometown club Derry City in January.

But the wing-back voiced his discontent at the move as time wore on and he left by mutual consent at the end of October.

McClean, who played for Sunderland, West Brom, Stoke and Wigan before making the switch to north Wales, says hindsight has made him realise he should never have walked away from Wrexham, a club he came to regard as home.

"It's the best years I've had in football," said the former Republic of Ireland international, who made 108 competitive appearances for Wrexham and scored eight goals.

"With what's happened with coming home, I wasn't born in Wrexham but I see Wrexham as a home-town because of how we were treated.

"Hindsight is a great thing but I should never have left."

McClean explained that family circumstances and the prospect of regular football played a major role in his decision, with a move back to Derry initially appearing the perfect fit.

"If it had been anyone else (other than Derry), I would have stayed," he said.

"(His wife) Erin's dad had had a heart attack, I was having conversations with Derry and it sounded like a dream.

"I spoke to the (Wrexham) manager and he said you are probably not going to get the game-time that you want.

"At the end of the day, it is about playing and I was coming to the end of my career, and I wanted to play week in, week out, and enjoy it."

McClean admits the emotional pull of returning home ultimately clouded his judgement.

"So sentiment and game-time, I got sucked into coming home but hindsight is a great thing and if I had a time machine, I wish I could go back and I would never have left because my family loved it at Wrexham," he said.

"I was club captain and I was respected. It was a brilliant time but unfortunately, you don't have a time machine. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't."

One of the reasons McClean looks back so fondly on his time at Wrexham is the relationship he built with the supporters, saying he felt a connection with the fanbase from the moment he arrived.

"The fans from day one.....Wimbledon away when I made my debut and Tranmere away when they were singing my song, I was thinking 'wow'." he added.

"At other clubs, it might have taken a while for fans to take to me but they took to me straight away and I was thinking 'this is class'.

"From day one, we struck up a good relationship."