NEWPORT County AFC will be taken over by their Supporters Trust, if they can raise another £25,000 by the end of September.

The Argus can reveal that buoyed by a first win of the season at Carlisle and after successful ‘share surgeries’ held during the past week, the collective efforts of fans has now seen the total raised to £170,000.

The Supporters’ Trust, which is being back by national organisation Supporters’ Direct, initially told fans they would need £225,000 to complete a takeover and to replace lottery winner Les Scadding as owners of the club who vastly overspent last season with wages at over 70% of their turnover.

However, that total was revised to £195,000 after the sale of Regan Poole to Manchester United on transfer deadline day and with a deadline of the end of September, County’s fans are now tantalisingly close to their dream becoming a reality.

In an update provided to the Argus, the Trust reiterated how close they now are.

“Despite not having a home game the contributions have still been flooding in,” they wrote.

“The share surgeries have proved an enormous success and given not only an opportunity for supporters to come and acquire shares, it has also been a great platform for the Trust Board to meet those fans who are willing to offer their hard earned money to help meet the ambition of becoming supporter owned.

“For that the Trust Board is extremely grateful.

“So the running total is £170k with 3 days to go, so we need one final push.

“If you are still pondering whether your contribution is required the simple answer is YES. If you needed any help in making that decision please click on the link and listen to the montage video put together by Chris from the County Choir on our website www.ncafctrust.org.”

The Trust are hoping Tuesday’s game with Crawley can provide another fillip.

“The Trust Board will be at the Crawley game on Tuesday before the game in: The Snelling bar and the Bisley hospitality area,” they explained.

The Trust enjoyed some good publicity on Twitter over the weekend with I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here winner Carl Fogarty urging people to join the Trust.

The Trust have also received coverage on BBC and Talksport radio and ex-midfielder Lee Minshull recently became the latest ex-player to get involved, joining the Trust and purchasing shares.

For full details on how to join the Trust and what share offers/options are available, see www.ncafctrust.org or contact the club.