YORK City striker Peter Duffield is hoping a summer spent with his nose to the grindstone will reap dividends in front of goal.

The diminutive front-man has not kicked a ball in anger since breaking his leg in September last year but has been training during the off-season in a bid to be ready for the start of the new campaign.

He is now waiting a crucial appointment with the specialist to hopefully get the thumbs up once and for all.

"It's feeling good and Jeff (Miller, City's physio) likes the look of it, and I went to Lilleshall a couple of weeks back and they're happy with my progress.

"I've just go to wait to see the specialist to get the final go ahead. I'm due to make an appointment to see him and should know more in three or four weeks.

"I've done a lot over the summer which I've needed to do because I'm playing catch-up. I haven't been playing games or doing much training with a ball and I'm hoping to make up the difference when I start playing pre-season. That should help me come on leaps and bounds."

He added: "I just hope working hard has been the right thing to do rather than rest a bit more, though I won't know for a while."

Duffield admitted things weren't perfect, but he was optimistic his recovery would be complete by the start of the season.

"At the end of last season I was coming on and training with the lads, but then the season finished and things went back a bit because I was not doing the twisting and turning as you would against another player," said the 32-year-old.

"But I did quite a bit of work with a ball at Lilleshall - I went down with Christian Fox - and it started feeling better and better.

"I'm still getting twinges around the calf but that's to be expected and to be honest I don't know how much of it is psychological.

"And it's not the bone that hurts but the bits around it. I would be more concerned if I was getting pain in the joint."

As for that psychological factor, he added: "You've got that fear but I've broke my other leg before and both arms and I don't imagine that I will be extremely worried about it.

"My main aim is to get through pre-season without pulling anything else and get match-fit to put myself in contention for the start of the season."

Duffield said the opening League games would give clues as to how City will do during the campaign.

"We haven't got a massive squad of experience but we will know more about ourselves as a team after the first six games or so," he said. "We've got to be focused and have a better start than last year and finish as high up the table as possible."

Updated: 11:52 Wednesday, July 11, 2001