ONE way or another, it is promising to be a momentous week in the history of York City Football Club.

I have spoken to a number of people over the last week or two about what is happening or is likely to happen, and the sooner we know what the definitive outcome will be the better.

Hopefully, it will be positive news and the club will be able to continue for the sake of all the staff at the club, the players and, of course, the fans.

The last few weeks and months, when the first rumours of cash problems at the club were circulating, have been like a slow torture for everyone concerned with York City.

As we wait and wait, I think that is the best way of describing how everyone at the club is feeling at the moment and I am sure the supporters are feeling exactly the same.

Because we had no match last Saturday, with our scheduled opponents Shrewsbury playing Everton in the FA Cup, we will have had a ten-day break by the time we take on Torquay this weekend.

In normal circumstances, I would be delighted to have enjoyed such a break at this time of the season.

Readers of this column will be aware, I am sure, that I have been a big exponent of the idea of a winter break in the past. So are a lot of other managers at the top of the game.

Fortunately, the freezing temperatures that have hampered our training this week are promising to be a bit milder by the weekend so, fingers crossed, Saturday's away to Torquay game will go ahead.

The players should at least be fresh and raring to go and in that respect the mini-break has been a good thing.

But given the circumstances and the uncertainty currently surrounding the club, I think it might have been better had we been playing games.

When you are preparing for games, concentrating on upcoming matches and then actually playing, you tend not to think about all the other problems and you can forget about them, even if for only a little while.

Because of our ten-day break, that's not been the case and while I am glad to have had the rest it's not been ideal in trying to focus on playing.

My job is to try to keep the players together and focused but we can only tell the players what we know.

And, at the end of day, no matter how much we think and worry about the club's off-field problems, there is nothing we can do.

It is out of our hands and our fate will be determined by others.

Having said that, we have to remain positive and hope someone will come in and from out of these troubled times something positive will come.

I have just been reading a book about Boothferry Park, Hull City's old ground before they recently moved to the Kingston Communications Stadium.

It is strange, but there are a lot of similarities between what has happened here at Bootham Crescent and what had previously happened to Hull City, a club I used to manage.

Much of the problems encountered by the Tigers came about after I left, but Hull are now in a fantastic looking new stadium and so there is cause for optimism.

I have gone through most things in football in my time but I have never encountered a scenario like this at York City.

And if we can get through these current problems then we have nothing left to fear.

I cannot imagine there being anything worse that could be imposed on the club than hasn't been endured in the last few weeks.

Hopefully, if the club can be saved we will all emerge stronger from these tortuous times.

Updated: 10:26 Thursday, January 09, 2003