YORK City boss Billy McEwan will ask top scorer Andy Bishop if he can break the pain barrier to face Carlisle United tonight.

Bishop has suffered with knee tendonitis for the majority of the second half of the season and will require an operation in the summer.

The 22-year-old striker missed Saturday's trip to Hereford United but McEwan is hoping that Bishop will have benefited from the rest and will let the 11-goal marksman decide whether he is fit to play.

McEwan said: "Andy Bishop is still a bit sore but he won't damage his knee any more by playing on it. It's whether his pain threshold will hold out and whether he can play games with a bit of discomfort.

"It's about how much pain he is prepared to take to play games but we will need everybody firing on all cylinders so we will have to see how he is."

McEwan is expected to stand by defender Kyle Armstrong despite lamenting his "naivety" after the penalty he conceded in the second minute of Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Hereford.

The City boss said: "We have got young players and they will make mistakes. They have got to learn from them and you can't just throw people out after one error."

McEwan also added that Armstrong might be too "good looking" at the moment to survive as a Conference defender and may need to acquire a few war wounds by toughening up.

He said: "If you are a good looking centre-half in this league you have no chance and I have told Kyle that. You've got a better chance if you are ugly.

"I want to see how brave he is and he's probably got to get some cuts and broken noses before he's a proper Conference centre-half."

McEwan also wants Lee Grant to prove he has the bravery required at Conference level but admits time is running out for the injured on-loan Aston Villa defender to prove his worth, saying: "I will sit down and talk to him but I don't know what his situation at Villa is.

"I think he's got another year but I don't know whether they want to keep him or pay him off. He's left-sided, has got a bit of pace and is not bad in the air but could be better.

"I've only seen him play a couple of times, however, and he might have to come back here on trial if Villa don't keep him."

The City boss watched Carlisle draw with Hereford last Tuesday and, since then, the second-placed Brunton Park club lost 1-0 at home to Forest Green Rovers.

McEwan feels they might suffer from play-off nerves and added: "It will be tough but I am not frightened of them. I think they are beatable and, apart from Tamworth, we have had chances to get something out of every game we have played since I came here."

Updated: 10:11 Tuesday, April 12, 2005