York keen to seize their opportunity after huge turnaround

The Bootham Crescent faithful are starting to believe a return to the Football League could be possible this year after a surge in form under boss Gary Mills, who talks to Richard Sutcliffe.

when Gary Mills was appointed York City manager last October, his new charges were sitting 16th in the BlueSquare Premier.

A month later, they had slumped into the bottom four and were facing the prospect of a bleak winter spent fighting relegation.

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Fingers were being pointed at the Bootham Crescent board and serious questions asked as to how a team that just the previous May had contested a play-off final at Wembley could have fallen so quickly.

The sale of top scorer Richard Brodie to Crawley Town shortly before the closure of the summer transfer window and the mysterious resignation of Mills’s predecessor Martin Foyle merely added to the sense of frustration being felt by supporters.

Four months on from when York slipped into the relegation zone, however, and the picture has changed dramatically.

Not only have results improved hugely but a possible return to the Football League is again occupying the minds of supporters and officials alike.

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“It has been quite a turnaround,” admits Mills when speaking to the Yorkshire Post ahead of tonight’s home game against Mansfield Town. “We have to be pleased with how things have gone.

“A lot of hard work has been put in by a lot of people. Crucially, the players have listened to what we wanted and the result has been a gradual move up the table.

“Being in the bottom four was not nice but I knew after just a couple of weeks that the players here had sufficient quality in them to turn things round.”

Mills, a former European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, arrived after three-and-a-half years in charge of Tamworth. Previously, he had spent time on the Coventry City coaching staff and been in charge of Notts County for 10 months.

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At the time of his switch, Tamworth were sitting three places and three points above York. Mills’s reign began with a 1-1 draw at home to Bath City and then a heartening FA Cup fourth qualifying round win over Kidderminster Harriers was followed by a league defeat to Forest Green.

Since then, York have hardly looked back with the 48-year-old’s 20 games in charge having yielded an impressive 38 points. Only leaders Crawley with 41 from 19 and Wrexham’s 45 from 22 outings can compare with the Minstermen’s record under Mills.

Along with the points haul, perhaps the biggest indication of the transformation brought about by Mills can be found in the tantalising position York find themselves in right now.

The Minstermen are seventh in the table, seven points behind Kidderminster who are in the final play-off place but with three games in hand.

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Victory tonight in the first of those would be enough to nudge York above sixth-placed Fleetwood Town, who like Kidderminster have played 38 games and are not in action until Saturday.

Mills said: “It is there for us. We have a real opportunity to push on now. If we can win, then we move up to sixth. That is a big incentive for a group of players who I have been delighted with since arriving.”

York’s surge up the table has been built on a rock solid home record. Only Manchester United with 11 and Crawley, eight, boast more straight wins on home soil than the Minstermen’s seven.

The most recent of those was a 1-0 victory over Eastbourne Borough on Saturday, the ninth time in 16 homes games that York have kept a clean sheet. In fact, only Swansea City of the Championship have let in less goals than the eight that have been scored against the hosts at Bootham Crescent this term.

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Mills said: “There is still a lot to do if we are to achieve what we hope this season. This is a special club and there is a real desire to get back to the Football League.

“I had come here with Tamworth in the past so knew what a big club it was. But, since becoming manager, I have seen the desperation everyone has to get back into the Football League.”

Leicester City loan signing Ashley Chambers is unavailable tonight against the Stags but Peter Till is fit despite suffering a muscle injury in the weekend win over Eastbourne, who brought just 26 fans to Bootham Crescent.

Mansfield are expected to bring a significantly larger following and Mills is hoping for a bumper attendance to help roar his team on to an eighth straight home win.

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He said: “We had just under 2,400 on Saturday but I hope there will be a few more against Mansfield. I appreciate money is tight and a lot of people are struggling.

“But I think anyone who comes down to support us will get value for money.”