Wales manager Ryan Giggs hopes to bring international football back to Wrexham as a thank you to fans.

The Welsh squad were put through their paces in an open training session at The Racecourse ahead of their friendly against Mexico next week.

Delighted fans packed the stands to watch the 90-minute session in the sunshine, with Giggs keen to reward the loyalty of North Wales supporters.

Wrexham's famous old stadium hosted the first ever Welsh international match in 1877 and Giggs is keen to see it return to a ground which evokes many positive memories for him.

He said: "It's a bit like going back to my childhood really because obviously a lot of games were played here in the eighties - the majority of the games.

"One of my standout moments was Sparky's overhead kick, which is one of my favourite goals ever. I played here a couple of times too - in pre-season with United and for Wales as well.

"Right from the beginning I wanted my first training session to be in the north - just as a thank you really.

"Obviously with most of our home games being played in Cardiff, I realised how much travelling is made to and from the games.

"It's been a great turnout here today and I'm really pleased. It's a big thank you from myself, the players and the staff for the fans' continued support.

"There's a lot of work to be done before we start talking about Wales games being played here.

"There's a lot of history that surrounds the Racecourse with a lot of international games played here over the years.

"But we are spoiled for choice at the moment with Swansea and Cardiff's stadiums and the Millennium as well.

"But I don't see why we cant play games up here too, once the stadium is up to scratch.

"I was here a couple of months ago having a look at the surface and it was very good, so with the history and the fact that fans in the north have to travel so far for home matches - it would be good."

Gareth Bale's absence because of Champions League commitments with Real Madrid failed to deter a sizeable crowd.

The local connections of Liverpool's Harry Wilson and Derby's Tom Lawrence were both big draws, along with crowd favourites Aaron Ramsey, Ashley Williams and Ben Davies.

Giggs insists the session in front of a fervent crowd brought the best out of his players ahead of their clash with Mexico in Pasadena.

He said: "We've got a week's training and this ids the first session with a tough game at the end of it in which we're going to get tested."

It's been great for the kids to come out and see the players up close, because there aren't many opportunities to do that.

"But also for the players. They get a buzz out of it and they give a little bit more in training sessions when they have fans watching.

"It's been successful and I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves.

"We've got a long journey over to LA ahead of us and then it will be a light session before we get down to business and prepare for a really tough game against a team that is going to the World Cup.

"It's one of the last tests before the Nations League so we want it to be a tough test - knowing that we have tough games coming up."