Carey has been promised funds to strengthen his squad

Carey had been in temporary charge at the Racecourse since the shock dismissal of Denis Smith in January, guiding the club to League Two safety.

The 38-year-old former Wrexham captain will continue to be assisted by the former academy boss Steve Weaver.

"It's a huge honour for me. This club has been a part of me for a long time. Last season was torturous, but I'm delighted to take the job," he said

Carey's first act as manager was to release goalkeeper Mike Ingham and defender Lee Roche.

We're targeting positions right now - we've got an idea of the type of players we need Wrexham manager Brian Carey

Northern Ireland goalkeeper Ingham lost his place after Carey brought in Anthony Williams on loan from Carlisle.

Williams, who has expressed his desire to sign a permanent deal at the Racecourse, conceded just five goals in nine games as Wrexham avoided relegation to the Conference with a late-season revival.

Roche's two seasons at Wrexham had been plagued by injury and the defender did not feature in any of the final six games of last season.

But Carey has given Matt Crowell a chance to prove himself after injury problems by awarding the midfielder with a short-term deal.

Shaun Pejic and Simon Spender have been offered new long-term deals, together with youngsters Marc Williams, Gareth Evans, Michael Carvill, Jamie Reed, Levi Mackin and Andy Fleming.

Carey will therefore start next season with virtually the same squad that almost sent Wrexham down to the Conference.

But club owners Neville Dickens and Geoff Moss have promised to make funds available to sign new players over the summer.

"We're targeting positions right now - we've got an idea of the type of players we need," said Carey, who first joined Wrexham on loan from Manchester United back in 1991.

We need to get a blend of youth and experience so we can do that job properly and start winning more games Brian Carey

"We've got a few players in mind, but competition is fierce these days and we've got to do our utmost to make sure we get them."

As well as goalkeeper Williams, Michael Proctor is understood to be on Carey's wish list after also impressing during a short loan spell.

Proctor is available on a free transfer after being released by Hartlepool this week, and fellow Pools reject Eifion Williams could also find himself to be a summer target.

Carey was virtually assured the manager's job after securing Wrexham's Football League status by beating Boston 3-1 on the final day of the season.

After a difficult start to his managerial career, Carey led his side to a superb late surge with four wins in the final five games.

And despite the tension and stress of the relegation dogfight, Carey insisted he had no hesitation in accepting the manager's job on a long-term basis.

"There can be no let up, we've got to push on now," Carey told BBC Wales Sport.

"It's been a difficult and emotional time since I took over in January, and when we got the result on Saturday it wasn't a celebration whatsoever

"It was more of a release of that emotion because it was quite torturous and we put the supporters through a lot.

"But they backed us right to the end and we got there. Now we need to push up the leagues again because off the field the club is doing really well.