YORK City finance director Terry Doyle has pleaded with the club's supporters to return through the turnstiles.

Doyle revealed at last night's Supporters' Trust annual meeting that the club are now losing £9,500 in revenue per match with attendances down by 1,000 since the start of the season.

Addressing the club's supporters at the Grand Opera House, he said: "Please, please, please can we get the gates back up to where they were when we played Southend in August. There were 4,000 home fans for that game but, at the last home game against Swansea, we had 3,000.

"The difference is £9,500 and that makes a hell of a difference to our budgets if it continues and our ability to bring new players in. A total of £9,500 multiplied by 23 is very significant in what we can and can't do."

Doyle also praised player-manager Chris Brass for his efforts with a wage bill that is just a third of the size of his predecessors.

He said: "It's a great credit to Chris Brass that the team is placed where it is on a wage bill that is two-thirds less than last season."

Updated: 11:35 Thursday, December 18, 2003