WREXHAM look set to welcome in the New Year with their biggest gate of the season following Sheffield Wednesday's exit from the FA Cup.
Scunthorpe United's penalty shoot-out success at Hillsborough means they will be in third round action on Saturday, January 3, while the best-supported side in the Second Division will be at the Racecourse the same afternoon.
Wrexham managing director David Rhodes said the visitors would be offered 3,000 tickets for the match but, following consultations with the police, a 1pm kickoff has been agreed and no fans will be able to pay cash at the turnstiles on the day of the game.
"I would guess it will be the biggest crowd of the season," said Rhodes. "Sheffield have a huge following and it would be nice to think that if we do well over the Christmas period, we might have 5,000 of our own supporters in the ground."
Manager Denis Smith was pleased, but not totally surprised that Wednesday were beaten by their Third Division opponents following a 2-2 draw in the first meeting at Glanford Park.
Yesterday he said: "Scunthorpe might possibly have felt they had blown their chance after letting slip a two-goal lead in the original tie, but they are on a good run at the moment - 13 unbeaten before last night, I think.
"And from all accounts Sheffield Wednesday missed a fair few chances last night but, all credit to Scunthorpe, they hung in there and it shows the confidence they have built up over the course of that run."
While not discounting the financial implications of Wednesday's visit to the Racecourse, Smith said he had not wanted the prospect of another blank Saturday for his players.
"So all round it's a great result for us," he added. "Hopefully they will bring quite a few fans and we'll do the same. I'm hoping we also get a good crowd for the home game against Blackpool on the Sunday after Christmas, because they also have a decent away following."
The holiday programme of four games in a fortnight gets under way at Grimsby Town's Blundell Park tomorrow and Smith will have central defender Steve Roberts available for selection, following his absence last week.
Chris Armstrong and Craig Morgan should both be in contention for the Boxing Day visit to Stockport County, with Darren Ferguson also back in the fold after a three-match suspension.
The Dragons boss has not himself or his players a points target for the festive period but said: "The aim is to be going into the New Year in a good positi o n, wh ich sh oul d help financial ly and mentally.
"We have the basis on which to build because, generally this season, we have been hard to break down and hard to beat. We've won five away games so far and if we can take that into double figures that's a solid platform from which to go forward.
"I know from experience that teams can come from way down the league with a late run and at some stage we need to pu t together a run of unbeaten games.
"If that begins on Saturday, there's a long way to go until the end of the season and we would have to go at full tilt to win automatic promotion, but the more realistic target is the play-offs."
