DEREK LLAMBIAS has urged Newcastle United supporters to call off their ongoing protests against owner Mike Ashley, despite confirming that the name of the club’s ground has changed to sportsdirect.

com @ St James’ Park for the rest of the season.

The Magpies’ managing director clarified the details of the name change yesterday, and immediately called on Newcastle fans to “concentrate on supporting the team”

instead of venting their fury ahead of Saturday’s home game with Peterborough.

However, a number of supporters’ groups were quick to express their fury at his actions, and a series of weekend demonstrations now appear inevitable.

After insisting that ‘St James’ Park’ would remain part of any name change on Tuesday night, Llambias moved quickly to confirm the details of the arrangement that will see ‘sportsdirect.com @’ added to all the official branding outside Newcastle’s ground.

The club will then seek a new sponsor to take over the naming rights from Sports Direct, a sportswear firm owned by Ashley, for the 2010-11 campaign.

“With a renaming, it was always going to be ‘Whatever brand it was going to be @ St James’ Park’,” said Llambias.

“On the outside – where you see St James’ now – we would like to have sportsdirect.com @ St James’ so it can showcase to whoever is out there that might wish to buy the package.

“If you want extra players, we have to bring in extra revenue and that is one source of revenue that’s been under-valued in the past.

“We’re not taking away St James’ Park – we’re just adding to it. We will showcase sportsdirect.com until the end of the season and I’m sure we’re going to get a sponsor in for next season.”

The climbdown from a total re-brand is an unseemly compromise that will do little to placate the 16,000-plus supporters who have signed a petition against any name change organised by the Newcastle United Supporters’ Trust (NUST).

Ashley and Llambias have been severely criticised since revealing their plans to sell the naming rights for the stadium last week, and while there will be minimal relief that the St James’ Park moniker will continue to exist in some form, there remains a deep unease at the way in which an essential part of the club’s fabric is being sold to the highest bidder.

Nevertheless, Llambias claims the ongoing hostility, which also reflects anger at a range of issues including the appointment of Dennis Wise, the dismissal of Kevin Keegan and the failure to prevent last season’s relegation, is counter-productive given the team’s position at the top of the Championship.

And he has called on the people of Newcastle to “support their team”, a comment that is likely to provoke as much outrage as his naming alterations.

“I think it’s very important that the negative press and the negativity around the city, it needs to stop,” said Llambias, who also confirmed that Ashley’s £20m of new investment would cover operating costs rather than fund spending on new signings. “You need to concentrate on supporting the team.

“You may not like the administration, but we’re here and we’re investing. We’ve made mistakes in the past, but we are trying our best and if you get behind our team – your team – it’s necessary.”

Llambias added: “When we (Llambias and Ashley) originally came up, it was great.

We could mix with the fans.

Mike is a guy that likes to talk to fans and the everyday person.

There were times when I had trouble getting him out of the pub in time for kick-off.

“He enjoyed his football. He still enjoys football, but it’s not the same for him. He used to bring his kids and there was a family atmosphere for us. Do we miss being popular?

We were never that popular, but it would be nice for people to focus on the team and the pitch, rather than focus on us as individuals or us as administrators.”

Yesterday’s comments have provoked an angry response from Newcastle supporters, who have also criticised Llambias’ attempts to sweeten this week’s developments with the promise of a giant TV screen inside St James’ Park.

Mark Jensen, editor of fanzine The Mag, said: “The idea of turning the history of St James’ Park into something that resembles an email address absolutely beggars belief.

“The people at the club have shown that they have absolutely no class, and while they talk about having a longterm plan, it’s clear they just make it up as they go along.”

NUST interim chairman Neil Mitchell added: “Mr Llambias merely confirmed what most supporters suspected – that the current owners care nothing about the heritage of the club.”