NEW Wrexham defender Steve Evans can't wait to make his long-awaited Football League debut for hometown club Wrexham against Grimsby tonight.

The former Crewe and West Brom man, 27, might have thought the chance had passed him by but after leading TNS to consecutive Welsh Premier titles over the past couple of seasons, he was finally given a break in the big time by Denis Smith this summer.

Evans, who made his bow in impressive fashion in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Wycombe admitted he was relishing the prospect of turning out at the Racecourse Ground.

He said: "It's like a dream come true. Hopefully, I can go out there and do what I did on Saturday." "The gaffer said 'well done' but that's just the start. That's the standard I've set and I've got to keep playing to that standard."

Evans' assured display alongside Dennis Lawrence

came as a big relief after a series of disappointing outings in friendly matches.

He said: "I've been up and down in pre-season games but on Saturday it all came together.

"Promotion is first and foremost in our minds at the club.

"Anything less will be probably deemed as failure."

Manager Denis Smith was relieved that Evans settled in well at Wycombe and is hoping for more of

the same from his new-look combination at the back.

He said: "Steve impressed me on Saturday. It was a gamble to play him because he hadn't dominated the way I'd have expected him to have done pre-season - especially when he's been with Big Dennis.

"They'd struggled to form a partnership but we worked on it last week and they were both good on Saturday. Big Stevie was super."