AMBITIONS to secure Football League status are said to be behind moves to incorporate ‘Rossendale’ into the name of the valley’s oldest surviving club.

Bosses at Bacup Borough have announced that from June they will be renamed ‘Bacup of Rossendale Boro’, after securing approval from the North West Counties League and Lancashire FA.

And it is hoped the rebranding will fuel long-term plans to emulate Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood and Morecambe and become a full-time Football League outfit.

The demise of Rossendale United has left Bacup, formed in 1875, as the only semi-professional side in the borough, with Whitworth Valley and Haslingden having previously moved down the football pyramid.

If the West View-based club is to progress, administrators feel it is vital that support is garnered from all corners of the valley.

Dave Edler, Bacup’s business development executive, said: “For this club to progress we have to widen our fan base and take the whole of Rossendale with us.

“The club has a proud history and recent achievements in the past 10 years have been phenomenal. However, there is no doubt that the club can achieve even more going forward if the whole of the valley comes in behind us.

“We wanted to make it clear that we are ‘their’ club. As the custodians of football in Rossendale we have a huge responsibility to ensure that this club does not follow the same route as the other semi-professional clubs and fall by the wayside.”

Brent Peters, club manager, added: “During my time Accrington Stanley, Fleetwood Town and Morecambe have gone from where we sit today within the pyramid to becoming a Football League club. This is not in the realms of being impossible.

“If we are to get anywhere near where those teams have progressed to, then without doubt this inclusion of Rossendale is the first major step in many that will hopefully see us reach our goal and with it secure the long term future of our club.”

On June 17, there will be the unveiling of a new emblem, incorporating cotton, forestry and wildlife, and logo - ‘Prosperity Through Endeavour’.