WREXHAM captain Ashley Westwood is keeping his feet firmly on the ground despite the fact that the Dragons’ unbeaten start to 2010 has encouraged fans to dream of making the end-of-season play-offs.

IRONICALLY a resurgent Wrexham FC could be bad news for the fledgling Crusaders side.It’s great that Dean Saunders’ men are at last mounting a play-off tilt and are doing it playing nice football from exciting players. Eventually it should bring floating fans back.But by the far the biggest crowd in recent Racecourse history didn’t show up for a football match, it was to see the new team in town.That was a one-off and most people don’t have the cash or the time to see both Racecourse-based teams regularly, especially when seasons run parallel.Last Friday people wanted to be there because it was an occasion. I'm sure they enjoyed it and thought about coming back. But numbers-wise it may be a different story when Catalan Dragons (away fans = 0) visit in a few weeks, especially if Brian Noble’s side haven’t been able to pick up a win in the meantime.I still think the key to Crusaders’ success is targeting the whole of North Wales and if Wrexham FC continue this push it's even more vital they go out and attract  them.Around Wrexham the marketing is good, but for the rest of the region it's non-existent. Go down the streets of towns and villages in Conwy, Denbighshire, Anglesey and Gwynedd and ask who the Crusaders are playing next. They won’t know, but they should because that’s where the fan-base is.Wrexham is a football town and a quick straw poll of my friends suggests to me that the Dragons are their first priority, especially if they are doing well. In the rest of the region, it’s not so set in stone.There aren’t as many Wrexham fans in towns like Denbigh, Conwy, Ruthin or as far down as Caernarfon, Llangefni and Dolgellau. They tend to follow Premier League teams.And they follow rugby in their droves, as the early year exodus to  the Millennium Stadium will will prove in coming  weeks.For the rest of the time they’re up for grabs and if I were the Crusaders I’d target these areas one at a time. Once the novelty wears off and crowds dip at the Racecourse, I’d hand out free tickets to schoolchildren across North Wales on the provision that paying parents take them.I’d get the players to do coaching sessions and get the side seen around North Wales.Let’s not forget that the WRU in Cardiff have done little for the North, although the rugby council up here are trying to get a semi-professional union side up and running.Children and parents alike will be happy that a professional sporting unit like the Crusaders are taking an interest in them.They are the fans of the future and if you can get rugby families to switch codes, they could be the players of the future.But they’ve got to go out and woo them as well as giving them a product they want to watch  on the pitch. I didn’t know the rules, the players or the nuances of the game last Friday night, but I enjoyed it.It was vital that a Wrexham crowd saw a try that meant something score-wise and when Gareth Raynor went over the crowd lifted as one for the first time.There were some teething problems as you’d expect. I smiled when the scoreboard gave the first points to Leeds even though the home side had kicked them, that “Celebration” played over the tannoy when Rhinos scored and that the official Wrexham website had Crusaders down as winning the game 34-6.The crowd also need to work out a few chants, although I realise fitting Crusaders into any tune is a little difficult. On the pitch I’m no expert, but it seemed to me that the Crusaders battled bravely in defence yet needed more attacking flair to push Leeds the other way.Perhaps Noble has addressed this problem with signings he’s made this week.I don’t know if he has. I doubt the vast majority of the region does either. But if the right moves are made, North Wales could find out together.

WREXHAM manager Dean Saunders has no doubt that midfielder Christian Smith can feel hard done by after being sent off in the closing stages of Tuesday’s 2-1 win against Mansfield Town at the Racecourse.