OXFORD United's new merchandise for next year will have fans hooked Gnome matter how they perform in League One.

The club shop will undergo a summer transformation and re-open in July with an array of new items including garden gnomes and Barbour jackets.

In the meantime fans can continue the party with promotion t-shirts which are to be produced in their thousands for U's fans next week.

The club's move to trademark its merchandise has been signed off and its Kassam Stadium shop will be bigger, easier to use, and home to much more United paraphernalia when it opens over the summer.

Retail manager Peter Lee said demand had risen this season and wanted the fans to have a club shop on the level of Chelsea's following the promotion.

The new shop, along with a new web store, will open on July 4 with the launch of next season's kit.

Retail manager Peter Lee said: "Takings have improved a lot over the past four or five months and on Saturday the shop was absolutely rammed.

"We will have a wider range of merchandise when we re-open the story in July and with the promotion we expect and hope it will continue."

He added: "My staff have been out to see Chelsea's club shop as well as Fulham's and we want to give Oxford United fans a proper modern football store.

"One of the things that worked well at other clubs were garden gnomes so we will be selling those for example."

He added that more outdoor jackets such with club branding and schoolbags for children would also be sold.

In the short-term staff are working on two new items for U's fans to parade around in while they wait for next season's opening day on August 8.

Promotion t-shirts are being designed for release by the end of the week and a T-shirt and vest for the club's pre-season tour to Spain will also produced.

Club shop manager Lee Barton said: "The promotion T-shirt designs have been signed off and may even be ready by the end of the week but probably next week.

"The potential to grow the club shop has always been there whether in League Two or higher.

The shop will close at the beginning of June and open again on July 4.

Its refurbishment will see more merchandise than ever before available to Yellows and two new printing presses will allow fans to have their favourite players name printed on the back of their new shirt.

United had hoped to make the most of this by opening a shop in the Covered Market but missed out on a vacant unit after making it onto a shortlist of four.

Mr Lee, who joined the board in August, said the club's search for a city centre shop was continuing and that they were working with Oxford City Council and hopeful of finding a venue soon.