Loyal Norwich City fans have handed the club a £600,000 season-ticket boost - despite the team's poor performance this season. The Canaries revealed season-ticket sales are up on the same period last year, when the club was in the Premiership.

Loyal Norwich City fans have handed the club a £600,000 season-ticket boost - despite the team's poor performance this season.

The Canaries revealed season-ticket sales are up on the same period last year, when the club was in the Premiership.

The club has already sold more than 3,000 season tickets for 2006/7, in just 10 days.

Andrew Cullen, the club's director of sales and marketing, said: “It's very early days yet, but what we are seeing at the moment is mostly people who have had season tickets for several years deciding to renew early.

“We are very grateful to them for their loyalty - every single season ticket we have is very important to us.”

The club has more than 20,000 season ticket holders for the current season, a record number. Season ticket levels have doubled during the past five years.

Mr Cullen said: “We have lots of families coming to watch football now and we try to keep the price as affordable as possible. We will work as hard as we can to maintain the season ticket base we have got.

“If we continue to fill Carrow Road it sends out a positive message to everyone, not just to the playing staff, but to the sponsors that invest in the football club.”

At the close of business on Tuesday, 3,050 season ticket renewals had been returned to the club, up on last year's figure of 2,900.

There are also more than 1,000 fans on a waiting list for season tickets, they will only get an opportunity if others fail to renew.

Renew before the first deadline of March 4, the day of the home clash with Stoke City, and Barclay regulars will pay £344 for their 2006-2007 season tickets. Wait until the summer and that figure will rise to £462.

Mr Cullen said: “What it does by launching the season ticket renewal scheme early is to allow us to plan ahead.

“Come the end of the season when other clubs are only just launching their schemes we know how much money the football management team will have at their disposal, which is an advantage.”

Season ticket prices for next term have risen by 2.7 per cent for supporters that renew early.

The Canaries will be hoping to avoid the fate of other clubs that have dropped down from the Premiership and failed to get promoted at the first attempt.

Clubs such as Leicester City and Leeds United suffered massive drops in their season ticket bases.

Ipswich Town, who face City in an East Anglian derby on Sunday, have yet to send out their season ticket renewal forms.

Paul Webster, chairman of supporters' group Capital Canaries, said: “It is a very impressive number of renewals given the situation the football club is in at the moment.

“I'm surprised it is so high, but it just goes to show the tremendous support this club enjoys.”

Norwich now enjoy the highest average attendances in the Football League at 24,800 - more than four Premiership clubs, namely Wigan, Portsmouth, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers.

What do you think of the support Norwich City gets? Write to Evening News Letters, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE, e-mail eveningnewsletters@archant.co.uk or e-mail www.eveningnews24/forums