The remarkable loyalty of long-suffering Canaries fans was highlighted once more today as it emerged almost 17,000 supporters have already snapped-up season tickets for next season.

The remarkable loyalty of long-suffering Canaries fans was highlighted once more today as it emerged almost 17,000 supporters have already snapped-up season tickets for next season.

Despite last night's 1-0 win against QPR, Norwich City Football Club remain in the bottom three of the Championship and risk a drop into the third tier of English football for the first time in nearly 50 years.

However, despite this a staggering 16,927 fans have already signed up for next season - even though they could be watching their beloved club in League One.

That's lower than the record high of 18,312 who had bought season tickets by the first February deadline for discounts last year, but still the second highest in the club's history at this stage.

Neil Doncaster, chief executive at Carrow Road, today paid tribute to the “tremendous loyalty” of Norwich City fans.

He said: “In the current economic climate and with our current situation in the table, for our fans to have shown such tremendous loyalty is a tremendous credit to them. We are extremely grateful for the outstanding support.

“It gives us real security in a time of great economic uncertainty and is a really welcome boost for the club.

“It is a reflection of the loyalty that our fans have, and which they are nationally renowned for.

“We, at the club, are extremely proud of the tremendous effort they have put in to achieve figures of almost 17,000 by this stage.”

Fans who renewed by February 28 received a discount of up to 13pc and announcing the prices, chairman Roger Munby appealed to supporters to “work with us through this difficult period of transforming the quality of our playing squad”.

However, many angry supporters said at the time they were refusing to buy new season tickets until a new board took over at Carrow Road, with some fans planning to instead attend on a match-by-match basis next year.

In January the Canaries announced a price freeze on season ticket prices and will be hoping to get close to the 20,364 who currently have season tickets before next season kicks off - whatever division the Canaries end up playing in.

The pricing plan included a discount for renewing before the end of February and a 20pc rebate for early renewals should Norwich be relegated to League One.

A renewed seat in the Barclay Stand purchased before February 28 cost �366 with second and third deadlines on April 13 and May 8 respectively.

Last weekend the Evening News launched its Get Behind The Canaries campaign, urging fans to back the players and management in their bid to avoid relegation.

Prior to last night's game the prospects of avoiding the drop were looking grim, but a Darel Russell goal has reignited supporters' hopes.

Gunn's team now have 10 more games to haul themselves out of trouble, with a must win game away at Blackpool, who are just three points ahead of the Canaries, on Saturday.

Do you want to add your support to our Get Behind The Canaries campaign? Contact Rob Garratt on 01603 772439 or email rob.garratt@archant.co.uk