York City supporters' chief Raymond Wynn today backed controversial plans from Minstermen chairman John Batchelor to change the name of the club.

As reported in the Evening Press, the flamboyant City supremo has unveiled a string of new plans for City including a football advice service and designer clothing.

One of the most prominent changes will be the renaming of the club as York City Soccer Club so it can be marketed in America.

The break with tradition has generated a heated debate on Internet fans' forums over the weekend, with supporters divided on the proposed name change.

However, Wynn, secretary and treasure of the City Supporters' Club, said the club had to look to the future and gave the plans his backing.

"From the start of next season the club is going to have a new image and the supporters will have to come to terms with that," he told the Evening Press.

"For some, it will be strange at first. But if it makes the club successful and makes it known throughout the world it can only help in the future.

"It is all part of bringing new support to the club and attracting new money into the club instead of relying on the old faithfuls.

"York City have never been into anything big and we have always considered ourselves a small club. John Batchelor is trying to expand and make us into a bigger club and that can only be a good thing."

Batchelor today maintained the club's traditional name will remain registered with the Football League and at Companies House although the new club badge currently being designed to adorn club merchandise will feature 'York City SC'.

Nor did he rule out a return to YCFC at a later date.

"We can play with it and when we get better brand separation we may play with the name Football Club again to keep things fresh," Batchelor said.

The City chief said the name change was all part of his plan to market the club in America during his upcoming trip to the States in August.

"It is simply a matter of presentation and it will give us an extra angle no one else will have," he explained.

"I want to take something to the States that will be easier to sell and when we go there we will be easily recognisable.

"We will still be known as York City Football Club as far as the League is concerned and I am sure by the fans.

"But we are giving ourselves an extra identity should we need it."

Batchelor said the cost of re-branding the club and the name change ahead of spending money on team strengthening would prove a wise investment in the long-term.

"It has not cost very much and will involve the replacing of stationary and some signage changes around the ground," he said.

"But we won't be spending a fortune on that because we are obviously planning to move to a new stadium in the future.

"What we are trying to do is bring as much income as possible into the club and then we can spend it on the playing squad.

"The more money we have coming into the club the stronger it is and the better we will do on the pitch."

He added: "We are trying to do something different and no one can say I didn't promise the club would be different when I took over.

"Do we want to be like everyone else or do we want to be different? I want a positive feel about the club.

"Soccer is a name used more and more - there's already Soccer Saturday and Soccer AM on the television - so we are not departing from the norm that much."

Updated: 11:53 Monday, May 20, 2002