The true extent of the loyalty and dedication of Norwich City fans emerged yesterday.All but two of the Carrow Road matches this term have been sell outs for home fans, despite some disappointing performances and results.

The true extent of the loyalty and dedication of Norwich City fans emerged yesterday.

All but two of the Carrow Road matches this term have been sell outs for home fans, despite some disappointing performances and results.

And while Crystal Palace and Southampton - the two teams relegated with City last May - saw season ticket sales plummet, Norwich's regular fan base has reached record levels.

Palace saw a fall from 18,000 to 13,500 after the drop and Southampton's total dipped sharply from 22,000 to just 13,500.

Looking back, it can also be seen how support for the Canaries has rocketed.

When team was in Premier League in 1994/5 there were 8800 season ticket holders. After relegation that dipped to 6727 and then steadily rose and went up by nearly 1000 this season despite relegation.

Many fans will wonder why the ground capacity has not been extended as games are regularly sell outs.

Director of sales and marketing Andrew Cullen said the possibility of putting a 5000-seat top deck on the City Stand was still being looked at - and indicated that if support remains as high for the next year, that dream could become a reality.

City chairman Roger Munby said: "This season the fans achieved for this football club something quite unprecedented - an increase in the number of season ticket holders even though we had been relegated. My strong recommendation and fervent hope is that all season tickets will be renewed and that we will stick to the formula we have. Together we will succeed."

City boss Nigel Worthington said: "When I first took over as caretaker manager in December 2000 we had 10,650 season ticket holders. The growth is a testament to how the club has grown in that time and to the loyalty of our supporters.

"My message to people thinking of getting a season ticket is this. Be Bold, be brave, continue to get behind the football club and we will do everything at our end to get performances right and push us back towards the Premiership as soon as possible."

Defender Gary Doherty - surely the current favourite for player of the season - said: "This year it's been a difficult season for the fans and for the team. Results haven't gone our way but they've stuck with us and the players are all very grateful for that."