HE might have only been Supporter Liaison Officer for a week, but Phil Howden should already be congratulated on one change to the York City matchday experience.

The Minstermen have ran out to the tired strains of Republica's "Ready To Go" for what seems like a decade now and, quite frankly, club officials should have followed the advice of the Berkshire band years ago and ditched the track, which reached a chart high of 13 in 1997.

Better late than never, though, with Howden promising a new tune for Notts County's visit next weekend and he reckons it will strike a chord with all members of the Bootham Crescent faithful.

Offering The Press a little exclusive, without actually naming the song, a teasing Howden revealed: "I've talked to the match-day DJ about our run-out music and it will change against Notts County.

"It will be a new tune. Well, not quite new, because it's a bit of a York City anthem."

Howden, who has returned to the club after a nine-month absence having previously worked as a cameraman, programme editor and media host for the Minstermen, was also instrumental in the reintroduction of the David Longhurst Stand flag display - which was such a colourful feature in the Conference era - during last weekend's 2-1 home win over Stevenage.

Stressing the importance of the club working in hand with its fans, the former Minster School pupil said: "Sometimes you have conversations with supporters and they say 'why can't we do this?' and I think 'well yes, why can't we do that?' because it wouldn't be a massive change to implement.

"Hopefully, I can start to make an impact straight away. I've already spoken to the guys who have done the flag displays and they were back against Stevenage.

"It's all about trying to generate enthusiasm and make these people realise that the club appreciate what they do for York City. I want to make people feel included. Inclusion is the key word really."

Howden, who lives in Stockton-on-the-Forest, has been taking a break from working life by travelling and spending more time with his family.

In the past, he has been the head chorister at Minster School and an English teacher in the Ukraine, where he met his wife and his son was born.

He also worked for the shortlived York TV station, where he produced DVDs to raise funds for City, as part of his job filming matches at the club.

As a fan since the historic 1983/84 fourth division title-winning team - "my first match was Wrexham and we won 3-2 with Roger Jones being chipped and ending up rolled up like a ball in the back of the net before Derek Hood started the comeback with a penalty" - Howden, 41, admitted it's a thrill to be employed, once more, by his lifelong love.

"It's great to be back," he enthused. "I enjoyed my first five years here and there's a good atmosphere around the place at the moment.

"It's a fantastic place to work and I'm really just a supporter, so things like chatting with the manager the other day make your head explode because, when you're not working here, you look at these people like celebrities, not somebody you see every day."

Howden is excited, meanwhile, to be involved at the start of an SLO movement that he feels will mushroom during coming years.

"The role has not been a priority here in recent times with other things that have gone on but, along with being a Football League requirement now, it's also something we need, because it's really important to be close to our fans as a small, family club," he explained. "UEFA came up with the idea in 2011 and wanted to spread the message that SLOs should be incorporated throughout European football and I believe it's a position that could be as important as, say, the programme editor or the club secretary in ten years' time."

Howden is hoping too that being somebody who is familiar to regular followers of City, both home and away, will help him become a productive SLO.

"I don't think you can do this job if you're not a York City fan," he argued. "People have fulfilled the role before who were juggling it with other responsibilities but, as a dedicated SLO, you can do it properly.

"I like to think I know a lot of supporters and I met somebody from Cliffe Minstermen this week, which was the last supporters' group I needed to tick off in terms of being familiar with their members. I like to think there's a mutual trust between myself and other fans and that they feel I won't just be giving them a load of flannel.

"I will be very happy and privileged to put their thoughts to the board. That might not always be effective because there will be health & safety, practical and financial considerations, but I'm generally hoping things can be done together to have a positive impact at the club.

"We want to hold fans forums more regularly - hopefully once a month or every two months. I'm also hoping to learn from people at other clubs because the issues are roughly the same up and down the country.

"I'm going to a Northern SLO conference meeting in Manchester next month to get some ideas about how they run things."

Howden certainly has a host of shared experiences and memories with the people he is looking to hear from in the part-time position he will fill on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays.

"The time I've gone the most crazy at a game was when Matty Blair scored that header at Mansfield in the play-off semi-final," he grinned. "The tie was so finely balanced after drawing 1-1 at our place and it was such a relief, even though we hadn't won promotion at the time.

"It was a great goal and he put it in right in front of the supporters. The play-off win at Luton was a close second despite it all turning nasty afterwards.

"The Dave McGurk tackle, goal, atmosphere and resilience of that team was just unbelievable. I'd rank both of those higher than beating Manchester United.

"That was obviously a great moment but, after making the headlines for a few weeks, there was no lasting consequence to compare to getting back in the Football League. I think Mansfield was better than Wembley as well, because when we went there everybody was spread out and there were a lot of people who wouldn't normally be there.

"At Mansfield, though, you were there with all your friends and it was a very special moment."

Anybody wanting to contact Howden with a supporter liaison matter can visit the general office on a Monday, Thursday or Friday, write to Supporter Liaision Officer, York City Football Club, Bootham Crescent, York, YO30 7AQ or email slo@yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk

You can also follow @SLO_YCFC on Twitter.

DAVE Winfield, meanwhile, has won back-to-back York City Press Player of the Month awards.

The 27-year-old defender finished seven points ahead of Kyle Cameron to secure the January honours.

Winfield was our man of the match and headed the online poll during Saturday’s 2-1 home triumph against Stevenage to collect a maximum total of five points towards the standings.

The other points were awarded to Michael Coulson (two) and Kenny McEvoy (one) as The Press’ second and third-highest rated players respectively.

The Press Player of the Year standings: Flinders 26, Winfield 23, Berrett 21, Ilesanmi 20, Oliver 15, Coulson 13, Summerfield 10, Nolan 7, Boyle 5, Collins 5, Thompson 5, Cameron 4, Galbraith 4, McCoy 4, McEvoy 4, Fewster 3, Godfrey 3, Lowe 3, McCombe 3, Penn 3, Tutonda 3, Greening 2, Morris 2, Hyde 1, Kitching 1, Straker 1, Turner 1.

The Press Player of the Month for January final standings: Winfield 12, Boyle 5, Cameron 4, Galbraith 4, Coulson 2, Dixon 2, McEvoy 2, Ilesanmi 1.

Goals: Oliver 9, Coulson 5, Berrett 4, Summerfield 4, Thompson 3, Winfield 2, Carson 1, Fewster 1, Galbraith 1, Godfrey 1, Lowe 1, McCombe 1, McEvoy 1, Nolan 1, Turner 1.

Assists: Summerfield 6, Berrett 4, Ilesanmi 3, Straker 3, Turner 3, Carson 2, Morris 2, Penn 2, Tutonda 2, Cameron 1, Collins 1, Coulson 1, Galbraith 1, McCombe 1, McCoy 1, Nolan 1, Sinclair 1, Thompson 1.

Bad boys: Oliver one red card, seven yellow; Berrett, Winfield both seven yellow; McCoy five yellow; Collins, Penn both three yellow; Carson, Flinders, Godfrey, Ilesanmi, Summerfield all two yellow; Greening one red; Boyle, Coulson, Lussey, Massanka, McEvoy, Morris, Nolan, O’Connor, Swan, Thompson all one yellow.