ON-LOAN midfielders Alex Pattison and Sean McAllister are being lined up for their full York City debuts tomorrow.

The pair are expected to start the Minstermen’s FA Trophy first round tie at Kidderminster Harriers, as boss Martin Gray looks for his National League North team to bounce back from the disappointment of losing 2-1 to second-bottom Boston United a fortnight ago.

Pattison, 20, has joined on a youth loan deal from Middlesbrough, where he is yet to make a senior experience.

Former Championship campaigner McAllister, 30, has arrived from Grimsby with Gray hoping his knowhow can provide a boost for his side that currently sit tenth in the league table.

The City boss said: “He (McAllister) has great experience which you want in the group if you’re aiming to challenge in that play-off group at the end of the season. You need that right mentality to be brave on the ball and play under pressure.

“He has played at a very good level and he’s a good age, so I am hoping that him coming here will benefit everybody at the club.

“He’s had injuries, but he’s got minutes under his belt for Grimsby reserves now and he has trained very well this week so, touch wood, he will come in and give us a good month and, at the end of that time, we can have a conversation about how well he’s done. He improves the competition for places and will come straight into the side.”

Pattison has already stated that he intends to use his one-month stay as the shop window for a move to a Football League club when the transfer window reopens in January, as he looks to make up for time lost this term following a pre-season broken ankle injury.

Gray is happy to have recruited a young professional with a point to prove and added: “He’s an attack-minded player with great ability.

“He’s had a great upbringing with more than ten years at Middlesbrough during periods when they were a Premier League club and he was on the verge of breaking through there before he picked up his injury five or six months ago. He will give us that extra we are looking for and this is the test that he needs now.

“Under-23 football can become a bit comfortable and he needs a change to show how good he is, so he can use this as a stepping stone in his career. I don’t think we’re taking a risk on him as a young player, because you do your homework as a manager and you have to do what you believe is right.”