YORK City boss Gary Mills is setting a promotion target next season, but has issued a warning that bouncing back up from National League North will not be easy.

The Minstermen chief finished top of the division with Tamworth in 2009, but feels standards in the sixth tier have risen during the intervening period.

Among City’s opponents next term will be seven former Football League clubs, or eight, if Halifax fail to beat Chorley in Saturday’s play-off final at their Shay ground.

The others are Stockport, Kidderminster, Darlington, Boston United, Southport, Bradford Park Avenue and Gainsborough Trinity.

Stockport, who were plying their trade at Championship level as recently as 2002 having reached the League Cup semi-finals five years earlier, are preparing for their fifth campaign in the division despite boasting an average gate last season almost 1,000 in excess of the Minstermen, whose crowds were the fourth-highest in the division above.

The National League itself only contained 13 ex-League clubs in 2016/17, while FC United of Manchester, founded by fans of Manchester United in opposition to Malcolm Glazer’s takeover of the club, also boasted bigger attendances than those witnessed at Bootham Crescent.

FC United’s cross-city rivals Salford City, meanwhile, are backed by former Red Devils Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, and Nicky Butt.

Closer to home, Harrogate Town are switching to full-time status with the support of chairman Irving Weaver, who is the father of manager Simon.

On his realistic ambitions for the 2017/18 campaign, Mills said: “We know the importance of getting back up as quickly as we can, but we’re not naïve. I think every season people say these divisions are getting tougher and we’ve got to be at our best from the word go.

“For the fans, it might be difficult at the start because everyone will want us to be at the top and I’m hoping that’s where we can be, because we’ll be looking to bounce back straight away. But our frame of mind has to be one of respect for the league we are in, because we’ll be playing against some tough teams next season.”