TOWN may have missed out on the play-offs by a single point, but rarely can a season have finished amid such optimism for the future.
David Mirfin's winning goal sealed a run of eight wins and a draw from the final nine matches - a surge which equals the club's best-ever finish and provides an encouraging platform for an even stronger challenge next time.
A travelling army of 1,960 fans - who gave magnificent vocal support - roared their approval as the whole playing staff went to thank them at the end (Rob Edwards, Steve Yates and manager Peter Jackson getting special cheers from the faithful).
It was a curtain-call worthy of the progress made with mostly young homegrown players this season and what a pity they are not now gearing for a shot at the play-offs, because they are in the form of their lives.
At the heart of defence, particularly, Town are showing a wealth of talent - Mirfin was outstanding on Saturday with John McCombe not far behind - and there's no shortage of competition in midfield, either, where Adnan Ahmed has emerged as a real force alongside the Worthingtons and Brandons of this world, with Michael Collins catching up fast.
Town will need to find some more goals to supplement those of Pawel Abbott when they line up against the likes of Efe Sodje's Yeovil next term, but they are playing a brand of attack-minded football under Jackson which is proving hard to resist.
It's important, of course, that as many of the squad are kept together as possible and that the manager adds with wisdom - at least one in each department would seem the basic order of the day.
Just as vital, however, is that any new recruits fit smoothly into the spirit which has sustained Town through some difficult times this season and enabled them to emerge as the division's most successful side over the last two months.
Since their last defeat at Saltergate on March 12, where Jackson was forced to set a target of two wins for safety, he has been rewarded with 25 points out of 27 while Chesterfield (in that same spell) have collected just seven.
The run-in has also proved too much for Torquay, who snatched automatic promotion ahead of Town just 12 months ago but who are now back in the bottom echelon with it all to do again.
That's a further illustration of the progress made by Town, who haven't quite been able to match the efforts of Hull City or Sheffield Wednesday this season but who have still finished ahead of Doncaster, Bradford and Barnsley and, to the fans' delight, have done it largely with talent from within.
Perhaps the biggest lesson to carry forward will be that silly mistakes prove costly.
Imagine if Town hadn't thrown away stoppage-time leads against Bristol City (twice!), conceded late on to lose against Torquay and MK Dons and, most recently, if they hadn't allowed Colchester to rip away two points at the Galpharm.
Those will be painful crosses to bear as the players take a well-earned rest this summer and Town look to build on current form by achieving more next term, when expectations will be high and the pressure to do well even higher.
While Wrexham celebrated a very welcome breakthrough in their bid to play at the Racecourse Ground next season, Town condemned them to a ninth defeat there this season with relative ease, although they came under wind-assisted pressure towards the end, when Darren Ferguson and substitute Hector Sam went perilously close.
There was terrific defending from Mirfin, McCombe and Nathan Clarke in turn, however, and the midfield battle bubbled continuously as Ferguson and Ahmed clashed in unsavoury style to each earn a booking.
The result would have been sealed by half time had Town taken their chances - Chris Brandon missed the easiest - but Mirfin's stooping header from Ahmed's 43rd-minute corner proved enough.
Pawel Abbott hit a post nine minutes from time when a goal would have been a fitting climax, but it's 85 years since Town finshed a season so strongly - and look what that team went on to achieve over the next few years!
Jackson insists a play-off place was there for the taking this season, so let's hope we're talking promotion next year.
Next page: Man of the Match >>>
Man of the Match: David Mirfin
JUST gets better and better. His covering of Juan Ugarte in the 14th minute as he broke towards the box was magnificent and summed up his whole performance. Hugely impressive throughout
How they rated:
Paul Rachubka Glad to see Ferguson's shot and Sam's header go wide but deserved a third successive clean sheet to finish off with Rating: 7/10
Andy Holdsworth Joined the attack to some effect down the righthand side, providing a number of crosses to put pressure on Wrexham's defence Rating: 7/10
Danny Adams Celebrated his one-year deal with another solid display, using the ball well and linking nicely at times down the left Rating: 7/10
David Mirfin Tremendous. Heading, tackling and positional play excellent and he thoroughly deserved to score the winning goal Rating: 9/10
Nathan Clarke Made some tremendous tackles in the second half, fearlessly resisting the best that Wrexham could throw his way Rating: 7/10
John McCombe After his top display at Brentford he was again a strong contender for top mark with a string of superb challenges Rating: 8/10
Chris Brandon Should have scored on 11 minutes when clean through but he taunted the home side with his pace and skilful play Rating: 8/10
Adnan Ahmed Another busy display and didn't shirk from the task of doing battle with tough Ferguson. Prompted well and made the winner Rating: 7/10
Michael Collins Given his chance again and didn't disappoint. Got stuck in and very tidy in possession, he's definitely one to watch Rating: 7/10
Andy Booth Strong in the air, teeing up a clear chance for Brandon. Got a great reception when he went off in the second half Rating: 7/10
Pawel Abbott A constant thorn in the Wrexham side, he was unlucky to hit a post in the closing stages (27 for the season: superb) Rating: 8/10
Turning Point:
THERE really was only one - the goal from David Mirfin on 43 minutes which crowned an excellent all-round display from the big, powerful centre-back on a day when Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock was among Wrexham's second-highest crowd of the season (7,151).
Mirfin found space to meet a corner from Adnan Ahmed (Town's first of the match) and direct his header through a sea of legs in the six-yard box to register his fifth goal of the campaign and his team's 74th in 46 League games.
Spotlight on the Ref:
GLOUCESTER official Lee Probert was pretty much on the spot to make all his decisions and it's a shame he was just a little too fussy throughout, which proved a frustration to both sets of fans.
The bookings of Shaun Pejic and Pawel Abbott were fair enough for challenges on Andy Holdsworth and Darren Ferguson, while the only potential flashpoint came when Ferguson was booked for a foul on Adnan Ahmed and the Town player took retribution less than a minute later with a scything tackle from behind.
Wrexham: Foster, Lawrence, Edwards, Williams, Ferguson, Llewellyn (Sam 64), Morgan, Crowell (Jones 69), Pejic, Holt, Ugarte. Subs not used: Smith, Bennett, Done.
