CITY boss Chris Brass singled out goalscorer Paul Groves for particular praise after Saturday's 2-1 friendly defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

It was the Minstermen's third successive pre-season loss, but Brass was pleased with his team's display.

Groves netted after two minutes from a Darren Dunning corner and Brass believes his summer signings will improve City's set-play effectiveness at both ends of the field.

He said: "I thought Paul Groves stood out and showed what he's capable of and, as the games go on, I'm sure he will get stronger. He's shown what a good player he is and he will be an added bonus during the season.

"We have a big team now and it's pleasing to have more of a physical presence. It helps with set-plays for and against as was shown with the goal, and Steve Davis will also add to that when he comes back into the team.

"We did not want to get a physical presence without quality, but over the course of last season we were beaten aerially in the box on a number of occasions and we had to address that."

Teenage defenders Graeme Law and Sean Davies also completed 90 minutes on Saturday and Brass stressed both can play important roles next term, saying: "Sean did well and Graeme's come in and had another good game. They're not just there to make up the numbers, they're there on merit.

"They have got to make sure they are banging on the door next season and getting in the first team. They need to put in consistent performances."

Brass also used a 4-3-3 formation on Saturday with Lee Nogan, Andy Bishop and Paul Robinson playing as strikers but said afterwards: "We needed to have a look at it because there might be times we need to play that formation during the course of the season but we will be sticking with 4-4-2 as much as we can."

Updated: 10:28 Monday, July 26, 2004