Connell Rawlinson

Career Chester City Rawlinson began his career with Chester City, making his debut as a substitute against Oxford United at the age of 17 in 2009. He made two further Conference Premier substitute appearances in the 2009–10 season, which were officially chalked off after the club's records were expunged following their liquidation in March 2010.

The New Saints Rawlinson joined The New Saints and made his debut in the Welsh Premier League on 29 August 2010, coming on for Phil Baker as a 61st-minute substitute in a 2–1 victory over Bala Town at Park Hall. He was handed his first start on 4 September, in a 2–1 defeat at Llanelli. He went on to play in the final of the Welsh League Cup, as TNS recorded a 4–3 victory over Llanelli on 2 May. He appeared a total of 21 times in the 2010–11 campaign and was offered professional terms at TNS for the 2011–12 season. He won a Wales semi-professional cap against Estonia in October 2011. He was sent off for the first time in his career on 18 February, during a 2–1 win at Llanelli. TNS won the Welsh Premier League at the end of the 2011–12 season.

He was loaned out to Newtown for six weeks in November 2012. He scored his first goal in the Welsh Premier League on 1 April 2014, in a 3–1 home win over Newtown. He ended the 2013–14 season with 16 appearances, helping the club to retain their league title again.

He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League on 15 July 2014, in a 1–0 defeat at Slovak side ŠK Slovan Bratislava, during the Second Round of qualification. He scored four goals in 37 appearances across the 2014–15 campaign, helping TNS to a fourth consecutive league title. He also won his third Welsh Cup as TNS secured a domestic treble with a 2–0 win over Newtown at Latham Park on 2 May, though was substituted after ten minutes for Christian Seargeant. He was restricted to 19 appearances in the 2015–16 season, though TNS again won the league. TNS also secured the Welsh Cup and another treble with a 2–0 victory over Airbus UK Broughton.

He re-established himself in the first team during the 2016–17 season, scoring two goals in 40 league and cup games, as TNS clinched a sixth straight league title. During the season the club set a World record by winning 27 consecutive top-flight games. However, they failed to retain the Welsh Cup, losing out 2–1 to Bala Town in the final. On 20 January 2018, he lifted his fifth Welsh League Cup title after helping TNS to overcome Cardiff Metropolitan University 1–0 in the final. On 2 February, he scored both TNS's goals in a 2–2 draw at Cefn Druids. Later that month he turned down the club's offer of a new contract, which was due to expire in the summer. He captained Wales C in a 3–2 defeat to England C in March 2018. He ended the 2017–18 campaign with three goals in 35 appearances, as TNS won a seventh consecutive league title.

Port Vale On 23 May 2018, Rawlinson signed with Port Vale of the English Football League. He made his debut for the "Valiants" on the opening day of the 2018–19 season, a 3–0 win over Cambridge United at Vale Park on 4 August. After the game manager Neil Aspin said that "he has set his standards and proved that he can play at this level, but now he has to do it consistently". He remained one of the first names on the team sheet, though was frequently utilised at right-back rather than at his favoured spot as a centre-back. On 27 November, he scored with a "towering header" in a 3–0 win at Yeovil Town. He was named on the EFL team of the week. He dropped out of the first-team picture after Aspin left the club in January and was replaced by John Askey. He was transfer-listed in May 2019, though after a good pre-season managed to force himself back into Askey's first-team plans.

Notts County Rawlinson signed for newly-relegated National League club Notts County on 5 August 2019. He scored two goals in 40 appearances for the "Magpies" in the 2019–20 season, which was permanently suspended on 26 March due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England, with Notts County in the play-offs in third-place. County reached the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, though Rawlinson was an unused substitute as they lost the match 3–1 to Harrogate Town. Supporters voted him as Player of the Season, whilst he shared the Players' Player of the Season award with Kyle Wootton.

He played 43 games in the 2020–21 campaign, helping the club to again qualify for the play-offs, and said he was keen to extend his stay at Meadow Lane for as long as possible. Though County's defensive record was sound, new manager Ian Burchnall – who succeeded Neal Ardley in March – wanted the team to improve in front of goal. Rawlinson admitted he needed to do more in this regard as he failed to register a goal during the campaign. Notts County reached the play-off semi-finals, where they were beaten 4–2 by Torquay United after extra time. He featured 29 times in the 2021–22 season, helping County to qualify for the play-offs with a fifth-place finish. He made 28 league appearances in the 2022–23 campaign, as County finished as runners-up to his hometown club Wrexham despite amassing over 100 points. He played in the 2023 National League play-off final as County secured their place in the Football League with a penalty shoot-out victory over Chesterfield. He signed a new two-year contract in May 2023. He was transfer-listed at the end of the 2023–24 season, before leaving the club by mutual consent on 30 June 2024.

Chester On 2 July 2024, Rawlinson signed a one-year deal with Chester, a phoenix club of his first club, Chester City, who were now members of the National League North. In January 2025, he was appointed club captain following the departure of George Glendon. He made 36 appearances across the 2024–25 season, He signed a new player-coach contract in June 2025. He was named as interim manager on 1 March 2026. He guided the club to a play-off finish at the end of the 2025–26 season. Chester were beaten in the play-offs and Phil Parkinson was appointed as the club's new manager on 4 May.

Coaching career Rawlinson joined Peterborough United as a first-team coach in July 2026, with manager Luke Williams emphasising his expected role in improving the club's set piece play.

Personal life Rawlinson married 27-year-old Georgia Panton at Mold, Flintshire in July 2021 following an eight-year relationship. At the time of his wedding he had an eight-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. and family members support Wrexham. EFL League Two

2019–20 EFL League Two

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2024–25 National League North

2025–26 National League North

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Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecordRefGWDLWin %Chester (interim)1 March 20264 May 2026 Total

Honours The New Saints Welsh Premier League: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Welsh Cup: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016; runner-up: 2017 Welsh League Cup: 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; runner-up: 2013

Notts County National League play-offs: 2023 Individual Welsh Premier League Team of the Season: 2017–18 Notts County Player of the Year: 2019–20