York City v Mansfield: Wilcox hoping extra rest will have done the trick for rejuvenated Minstermen

The Minstermen host Mansfield Town on the back of a battling goalless draw at Exeter City and Tuesday night’s valiant display in losing 3-0 at 2013 Capital One Cup winners, Swansea City.

York’s team bus did not arrive back at Bootham Crescent until 5am on Wednesday, hence why the players were then not told to report back for training until yesterday morning.

Wilcox explained: “It is not just the travelling, we effectively lost a night’s sleep by getting back so late. That is why we gave the lads an extra day off.

“After a couple of overnight stays already, it probably was nice for us all to have a break from each other. Now, though, we have to get up for the return to the league.”

York caused Swansea plenty of problems on Tuesday night and Wilcox wants to see the same desire against Mansfield. He added: “There were plenty of positives to take out of Tuesday’s game. Swansea are an excellent side and were 1-0 up inside 90 seconds.

“But we showed tremendous character and reacted really well to that setback. We grew into the game, hit the crossbar through James Berrett and had a couple of other decent chances.

“Our fans were first class and they really appreciated the effort that the lads put in. The key now is taking that into the league.”

Stephane Zubar’s season is all but over after scans revealed the injury he suffered at Exeter was cruciate ligament damage.

Wilcox added: “We all feel awful for Stephane. This is awful news.”