City chief executive David Baldwin has called on supporters to snap up season tickets and become the “12th man” at Valley Parade next term.

Adult season passes have been frozen at £199 but fans only have until 5pm on Saturday to secure their seats and flexi-cards before prices increase.

Baldwin revealed around 7,000 season tickets and 1,500 flexi-cards have been sold but he is encouraging one last push and said the number of tickets sold would dictate Phil Parkinson’s playing budget this summer.

“The prices have been frozen for three years now and the deal for cheap season tickets is in its eighth year, so the fans really can become the ‘12th man’ for us again,” said Baldwin.

“These season-ticket prices have always been sustainable based on the numbers we attract but if we lose those numbers it has an effect on our brand value, advertising and sponsorship.

“That, in turn, affects everything we do on and off the pitch because all income that we generate goes straight into the playing budget.

“The best example is the improvements that have been made to our training facilities at Woodhouse Grove.

“In the past 12 months, we’ve had the new 3G pitch built and the Academy is operated fully from the Woodhouse Grove complex. The upshot of that is there is some good young talent coming through.

“That £199 season ticket has such an effect on not only the here and now of the football club but also its future plans.

“What we don’t want to do is go back to the traditional season-ticket cost of £300, so the £199 season ticket is only sustainable if supporters vote with their feet and their purchases.”

Baldwin, meanwhile, said he was busy talking to agents about players and was hopeful an announcement would be made “as soon as possible”.

He added: “We would love to be able to be more open about our targets but it would be detrimental to our capability of signing them.

“There were some signings two years ago when we went on and had a fantastic season. A lot of those were off the radar right up until the last minute before we signed them.

“Phil made a very good point when he said ‘if it’s been too easy to sign a player then there is usually a reason for it’.

“We are having ongoing discussions with agents of players but we won’t do our business in the public domain.

“I think we will have a positive season and the most important thing is that we will continue to make positive strides – but none of us can become complacent about that.

“I lay that responsibility with everybody, and there has become an element of complacency with the season-ticket offer, but it’s not the norm in the Football League.

“We really solidified ourselves in League One last season and we all have ambitions for the football club – but ultimately we’ve got to continue to work hard to make those little improvements.

“The only thing that helps those improvements is financial support. Every stand, advertising board and box has been renewed, so the commercial team are doing a fantastic job.

“We are trying to ensure that every area of the football club is run efficiently and that we maximise the income in the non-match-day ticket areas.”