WREXHAM have attracted new supporters from all over the world through their Hollywood owners but Shaun Harvey believes 'local' fans have once again shown their undying love for the club after selling the huge allocation of tickets for a Monday evening game live on television.
The promotion challenge will be put on hold when Phil Parkinson's League Two high-fliers face Championship side Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in the FA Cup fourth round.
Rovers gave Wrexham the full 7,000 away allocation but with the tie being switched from the Saturday to the Monday evening because it is being screened live on BBC One Wales, it was thought that the Reds would struggle to sell-out.
However, those fears were quickly allayed and supporters will be out in full force at Blackburn, hoping to see Wrexham pull-off another cup upset.
The club's popularity has soared since actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their takeover at The Racecourse in February 2022 but recently-appointed director Harvey feels the sheer volume of tickets snapped up for a Monday evening game has proved to doubters just how well the club is supported.
"The fact that Blackburn is one of the few clubs that has a significant allocation for visiting fans and the thought of being part of 7,000 Wrexham fans on the road, I think people are more concerned about losing that and what that would mean than they are about playing on a Monday night," said Harvey.
"It is an opportunity to show the level of support there is for the club and from the club's perspective, to show that 7,000 locals are still turning up to watch the game despite the world-wide clammer there is around the club.
"It does prove the point that the club has not lost its root in the local community.
"We don't have to prove it to anybody here but anybody who is looking on and has questioned it, the answer is there.
"It will be a tremendous turnout and of that 7,000, the mass majority would have come from the greater Wrexham area.
"It says to everyone forget the clammer of Hollywood, actually the people coming through the turnstiles that are benefitting from this whole experience are locals."
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