NEVER mind the Champions League - Tuesday's big match is at the Racecourse.

I really hope footie fans across North Wales will turn out in force to cheer on the Dragons in their bid to reach the LDV Vans Trophy final.

I don't pretend to understand everything that's happened there over the past few years - does anyone?? - but I have nothing but admiration for Denis Smith and his players.

Worrying whether they'll have a job come May, worrying whether they'll get their wages, kicked in the teeth with a 10-point deduction... how do they

keep going? Fair play to the lads, and well done Denis too. And he's the man who's got to get them in the right frame of mind for games.

With Wrexham 5-3 up from the first leg at Oldham, fans might need a calculator to work out if the Dragons have made it to the Millennium Stadium for the first time. But wouldn't it be great if they did? It would be a brilliant morale-booster for a start, and think of the financial problems it would solve.

It's ironic that Wrexham's big chance of glory comes at such a critical time in the club's history though, and I bet Denis would gladly swap a trip to Cardiff for a guarantee of League One football next season.

Nothing else matters because Wrexham is important to the whole of the region and, like everyone connected with the club, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a deal to secure its future is done sooner rather than later.

Relegation is looking more of a possibility unless Wrexham can start turning draws into wins, but I'm sure everyone would settle for playing in League Two next season rather than not at all.

* MICKEY THOMAS has not been paid for this feature. A donation has been shared equally between Hope House children's hospice and Wrexham FC's Revival fund.