THE World Cup Finals begin in blaze of glory today but Wrexham coach Carl Darlington insists football fever has been alive and kicking in the town all summer.

With the club close to selling 2,000 season tickets for next season, Darlington, who will continue his coaching role in new manager Sam Ricketts' Wrexham set-up, praised the Reds' fans for their loyal backing.

Wrexham threw away a great chance of promotion last season in the National League, falling away miserably in the last six weeks of the season to finish a disappointing tenth.

But that has not dampened the spirits of the success-hungry Reds' supporters, who are looking forward to another season in non-league football.

"We are the biggest team team in the league and we have the best fans in the league," said Darlington.

"They are phenomenal. We had crowds averaging between 4,500-5,000 and were taking 400-500 fans to away games in London - for midweek matches.

"We did fall short but the fans saw that the team made progress.

"Wrexham is a hard-working town and the football club is at the heart of it.

"The fans wants success and they have shown that in coming to get their season tickets. This time last year, we's sold 1,300. Now we're close to 2,000. That's amazing support."