Championship countdown: York City Knights’ crowd can be the 14th man (From York Press)

Championship countdown: York City Knights’ crowd can be the 14th man

11:56am Friday 1st February 2013 in Sport

GARY THORNTON wants to recreate the noisy atmosphere Huntington Stadium enjoyed in the mid-naughties – but accepts his York City Knights team must do their bit to prove they are worth watching.

Attendance figures have declined since the club averaged around 2,000 in 2004 and 2005 during the Knights’ fun-filled honeymoon period.

They have dropped into three figures far too often yet have occasionally topped the 3,000 mark, proving support is out there, and Thornton believes such healthy crowds can help the club to fulfil their goal of making the Monks Cross ground a fortress. He admits it is a two-way street, however.

“We really want people to come and watch. That’s why we do this. We want to play in front of big crowds,” he said.

“In 2005 this club was getting a 2,000 average. If we can have a successful side we should get somewhere near that again. People want to see a successful team and we have to get our performances right. Hopefully we can do that and the people of York will come and watch us.

“If we can get the stands full and vocal, it’s the old cliché but they’re the 14th man, the extra man. There’s no doubt it gives the players that extra lift. People want to be playing in front of big atmospheres – it lifts the performances.

“But one goes with the other. If we’re winning and playing well, people will come and watch.”