THE time for excuses is finally over.

Rugby league fans in York must tomorrow vote with their feet and show that they want a professional team in the city.

York Wasps home encounter with Hull Kingston Rovers could be the final game in their 100-year history.

And while a big crowd will not solve their immediate problems, it will at least give the Wasps cause for hope when they travel down to London for their High Court date next Wednesday.

If prospective new owners John Stabler and Russell Greenfield succeed in their bid to get the winding-up order deferred then they need to know the club is worth keeping alive next season.

And if the York public cannot get behind them in their hour of need they may have no choice but to decide that it is a lost cause.

That must not be allowed to happen. York has always been a rugby city and now is the time to prove it.

Attendances at Huntington Stadium reached a record low of 331 in the last home game against Rochdale which is simply not enough, according to Stabler.

But he insisted a big improvement tomorrow could make all the difference.

"It makes a huge difference to see what support would be forthcoming to sway us into pulling out all the stops to save the club.

"If 331 turn up plus the Hull KR supporters then one has to ask the question does anyone want a rugby league club?" said former chairman Stabler, who, along with fellow ex-director Russell Greenfield, will regain control of the club if they stave off the winding-up order.

His pleas were backed by caretaker coach Garry Atkins who said: "I'm a fan myself, that's the reason I came to help out.

"It would be a great travesty of justice if York go out the league. It's the unthinkable. The people of York need to rally round if they want a professional club in York which I'm sure they do."

It promises to be a carnival atmosphere at Huntington Stadium tomorrow for what should be a closely contested match.

The action starts at noon with the Academy curtain raiser between York and Hull KR and other pre-match entertainment includes a 'mascots' challenge.

The Wasps have struck a deal with BBC Radio North to cover the whole match.

Buses to Monks Cross leave from the central station at 10 minutes past every hour and return at 20 to the hour, the last bus back being at 6.40pm.