YORK City boss Gary Mills wants to keep alive one of his three targets for the season by knocking Salford out of the FA Cup.

The National League North’s two most high-profile clubs meet at Moor Lane on Saturday in the second qualifying round – the earliest stage the Minstermen have ever entered the competition.

City would now need to negotiate five ties before Premier League sides join the tournament in January, but Mills wants his players to reach that third round phase, which the club last managed in 2011 during the current boss’ first spell in charge at Bootham Crescent.

Late goals by former England international Kevin Davies and Sweden’s Johan Elmander settled matters more than six-and-a-half years ago in a 2-0 defeat at then Premier League outfit Bolton, who also included Chelsea and England centre-back Gary Cahill in their team that day.

Now, Mills is eyeing up a similar run to complement his primary goal of promotion, as well as a successful defence of the FA Trophy at Wembley.

On the importance of the FA Cup, Mills said: “This season promotion is the most important thing but, as a manager, I have three objectives at the start of every season and they are to get promoted, win the FA Trophy at Wembley and get to the third round of the FA Cup to get some money in and give the club a bit of exposure. It’s also good to pit your wits against better teams in the Football League and I think an FA Cup run gives everybody a lift and we’ve not had too many at the club over the last two or three seasons.

“To get a League club at Bootham Crescent would be fantastic. It’s a great competition and progressing doesn’t affect you in the league in any shape or form, especially now we haven’t got any midweek games scheduled.

“A good run can actually help you in the league, because you gain confidence from beating good teams. Being in the FA Cup every fortnight is good and I definitely don’t want to go out to Salford and go on to have a free weekend and not play for two weeks.

“We went to Bolton before when they were in the Premier League and were probably the better side for 83 minutes and could have won the game, so it was a great day out for us as a football club. We took 5,000 fans and I can’t see any reason why people wouldn’t want a taste of that again.

“It’s also nice to get away from the intensity of the league. We’ve played 11 games already and not really found a consistency, but we still haven’t lost in three games and have taken seven points from a possible nine.”

The away draw was arguably the hardest City could have received at this early point of the Cup, with title favourites Salford having just moved level on points at the top of the league with Harrogate.

But this match will be followed by consecutive league clashes against top-three teams Harrogate, Brackley and Salford, assuming the October 14 trip to Leamington, who are away to Westfields this weekend, is postponed if either they or City reach the third qualifying round.

On the challenges ahead, Mills added: “Salford will probably be thinking ‘why did we have to draw York City?’, so the draw will feel the same for them, because there were teams left in that I hadn’t even heard of, who we could have both got, but we haven’t.

“They haven’t lost in ten games and seem to be winning every week and we’ve now got to play Salford, Harrogate, Brackley and Salford again, assuming our game against Leamington, so we’re playing the top three teams in the league. That will give us a chance to show what we can do and what we’re about.

“We’ve got to emulate our performance against Stockport when we play these sides by being strong with everybody doing their jobs superbly. If we play like that, we can beat these teams, but it’s a big test for us and they’re all up there for a reason.

“Harrogate can’t stop scoring. They’re getting three, four or five goals every game and people are telling me what a really good side they are, so we’ll have to be at our best to beat what are good teams.”

Adriano Moke, meanwhile, could return for the trip to Harrogate a week on Saturday.

The 27-year-old midfielder has missed the last five games since pulling his thigh muscle during the 1-1 draw at Southport last month.

But the former Glenn Hoddle Academy graduate has healed sooner than expected and, while this weekend’s trip to Salford will come too early, he is pencilled in for a return to full training next week.

On his recovery, City chief Mills said: “Mokes could be back in full training on Monday, which is two weeks ahead of what we thought and that’s great news to get somebody back who was performing well. He could be available for Harrogate if he comes through his work with the physio over the next few days.”

Midfielder Clovis Kamdjo remains a couple of months away from completing his rehabilitation after cruciate ligament damage, while Michael Rankine missed training today, but will be available for the Moor Lane clash.

“Ranks has had an injection in his toe, which he needs every so often and it meant he couldn’t train today, but he will do tomorrow and he’ll be fine for Salford,” Mills explained.

If Saturday’s tie is level after 90 minutes, a replay will be staged at Bootham Crescent on Tuedsay night, prompting Mills to reason: “We don’t have to risk getting a winner in the last minute and leave ourselves open to losing the game, so your approach is slightly different in the Cup. We know we can bring them back to our place if we need to.”