Wrexham secretary Geraint Parry admitted the club had always feared the worst outcome, but hoped the panel would have reduced the penalty by five points.

ADMINISTRATION FACTS Administration means that a court-appointed accountant takes over the financial control of the club from its directors The administrator tries to find a settlement with the club's creditors or to sell the club as a going concern In the last 11 seasons, 34 Football League clubs have gone into administration, 12 since the collapse of ITV Digital As well as a 10-point deduction, new League rules will not allow clubs to be in administration for longer than 18 months or two successive seasons.

"We were in uncharterred territory, but we had to try to get the points back," Parry told BBC Wales Sport.

"It could make the difference between us staying up and going down."

Before the 10-point penalty, Wrexham were in a comfortable mid-table position in League One.

But now they find themselves one place off the bottom and facing the real threat of relegation.

Parry added: "We've got a relegation battle on our hands now so we've got to pull together and make sure we get out of this mess."

The club was only able to take this course of action - the first of its kind - after fans and businessmen pledged to cover the £20,000 cost of the appeal.