Newcastle United supporters have stepped up their fight to oust Mike Ashley in the wake of his decision to rename St James’ Park, their ground for the past 117 years.

Supporters reacted with horror and disgust to yesterday's announcement that the historic ground has been rebranded sportsdirect.com@St James’ Park. The move comes as Newcastle attempt to recoup some of the £50 million that Derek Llambias, the managing director, claimed has been lost in revenue after their relegation to the Coca-Cola Championship.

The Newcastle United Supporters Trust (NUST) is calling on fans to take back control of their club by getting behind the "Yes We Can Campaign", which will be officially launched next week. The fresh push has come after Ashley took the club off the market last week, ending Barry Moat’s bid to buy him out and return Alan Shearer to the dugout. The plan is along similar lines to the model that is in place at Barcelona and Real Madrid.

"There doesn't seem to be any knight in shining armour on the horizon so we have launched our own campaign which is calling upon the supporters to come together with a view to buying Ashley out," Colin Whittle, a NUST spokesman, said. "We have had meetings with financial institutions, brokers, MPs and a lot of other individuals in order to come up with a structure that will ultimately lead to the fans buying Ashley out.

"We would be looking for a one member, one vote option, because we want to have supporter ownership at the core of the club. It is up to us to do it ourselves. Everyone is rising up and we are looking to bring forward the trust's long-term aim, of having an interest in the club, into a short-term one."

It is understood meetings have been arranged with local finance brokers to discuss the proposals, with supporters being asked to contribute around £2,500 for a share, although all options are being explored.

Petitions have been set up - NUST has collected more than 16,000 names - and demonstrations are planned for Saturday’s game against Peterborough United.

Yesterday, Llambias admitted the club “could have worded” their statement better. He added, somewhat controversially, that Ashley’s running of the club had been “nearly spot on”.

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