YORK City boss Gary Mills is not looking to bolster his squad following the departure of defender Matty Fry.

Ex-Braintree centre-back Fry has left Bootham Crescent and is intending to return to part-time football after knee problems meant he had not figured for the Minstermen since January.

Other than the transfer-listed Ben Clappison, City only have three recognised senior centre halves now on their books in Dan Parslow, Hamza Bencherif and Jassem Sukar, but Mills argued that Fry’s lack of action for the last eight months means his exit should not be keenly felt.

“We’re not going down that road,” Mills said of the possibility of space being created on City’s wage bill due to Fry moving on. “I don’t want a squad of 30 players, which I inherited when I came here.

“I have a small group of players I am working with and, because of injuries, Matty hasn’t featured in that anyway, so it’s not like we’re losing somebody who has been involved greatly. I also know we have a squad of players who are good enough to achieve what we set out to achieve at the start of the season.”

Mills could be forced into a defensive reshuffle, though, for Saturday’s FA Cup third qualifying round trip to South Shields, with Josh Law doubtful after being replaced at half-time during last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Harrogate with a groin problem.

If Law is missing, Mills could switch to a five-man defence with Simon Heslop filling in at right-wing back and Jassem Sukar starting as the left-sided centre-half.

Alternatively, if Mills wants to carry on playing 4-3-3, Heslop or Dan Parslow could be pressed into full-back duties.

On his options, Mills admitted: “If Josh doesn’t make it, we would need to decide whether we change system or not. We haven’t got another natural right back really, but there are players who could step in and have played there before if we stay with a back four instead of a five.”

Jon Parkin will return for City, having sat out the Harrogate match due to their 3G playing surface, which aggravates his knee.

But fellow forward Michael Rankine remains absent, as the cause of his high-blood pressure problem is yet to be determined.

“Ranks is still having tests and heart scans, which is a worry for him, because it’s his life we are talking about,” Mills pointed out. “Everybody knows you have to be very careful in football with things like this and we need to do every test possible to make sure he’s in good health physically and mentally to continue playing.”

In response to his team being accused of failing to match Harrogate’s passion during last weekend’s derby defeat, the City chief insisted certain standards will need to be met if a Cup upset is to be avoided against Evo-Stik North table-toppers South Shields, who have only lost one of their last 50 games.

“People have told me Harrogate looked like they wanted it more and had more desire than us,” Mills added. “Well, if we haven’t got that, we might as well all pack the game in, because we are going into a game where we will need to work as hard as they will be doing.

“They’re on a roll and I know they have good players. They will be absolutely full of confidence and believing they can beat anybody.

“That was seen in the last round when they won 3-0 at Darlington and it could have been double that scoreline by all accounts. But I know I have a squad of players capable of beating South Shields if everybody does their job correctly.”

Mills went on to insist that the Harrogate loss might have dented morale a little, but has had no impact on his players’ belief.

“Results dictate how nice your following week is, but you have to bounce back and there’s no dip in confidence,” he declared. “The players had a couple of days off because it can be a long week without a midweek game and they needed to rest mentally and physically, before the next challenge.”