York City boss Billy McEwan has admitted that paying a transfer fee for on-loan Darlington defender David McGurk was not a realistic possibility.

McGurk returned to Darlington after a six-month spell yesterday and the Minstermen were facing their first match this season without the 23-year-old defender at Scarborough this afternoon.

It was believed that Darlington would have sanctioned a permanent move for McGurk to KitKat Crescent if City had matched an asking price understood to be in the £20,000 region.

But McEwan said: "We haven't got two bob so there was no way we could even think about bringing in David McGurk if money was mentioned but I would like to thank Darlington and David for his services.

"He has helped us out and we wish him well. I hope he has learned a fair bit here that will make him a better player.

"I'm sure he has got a lot of football ahead of him and he will be the first to admit we have helped him on his way."

McEwan is expected to bring a new defender in during the transfer window which has opened for the month of January and a fresh face at Scarborough was a possibility this afternoon.

Kidderminster centre-back and former Leeds United and Scunthorpe defender Mark Jackson has been rumoured as a possible target and McEwan will also be talking to Carlisle United about Lee Andrews' future when his loan spell expires a week tomorrow.

Andrews was the man of the match during Saturday's 1-1 home draw against Morecambe and has deputised ably as a makeshift right-back with Jamie Price (stomach) and Graeme Law (foot) both sidelined.

McEwan said: "He's filled in well and I am speaking to Paul Simpson at Carlisle so we will have to see what happens.

We are busy working on bringing players in and are speaking to clubs and players."

But on-loan midfielder Terry Barwick has returned to Grimsby Town with an ankle injury that is expected to keep him out of action for the rest of the month.

McEwan added that he was proud of his team's performance during the 1-1 draw against Morecambe in which Mark Convery's excellent first-half strike was cancelled out by a fortunate Wayne Curtis equaliser.

He said: "I think all the players did York City proud because Morecambe are a top side and we matched them for most of the game. I think there was a big difference from the last time we played them and I am sure they would agree with that.

"It was a good point for us. We are a young, evolving team and were playing against a tough, experienced and skilful side who have been on a high."

McEwan added praise for Dave Merris who was assigned with the task of stopping Morecambe's highly-rated right-winger Garry Thompson when Evan Horwood was substituted on 19 minutes suffering from dizzy spells.

The City boss said: "Dave did well and we know what he gives us. He's a very integral part of the squad as are many players not in the team. They just need to work hard and, when their chance comes, enjoy it and take it."

McEwan also paid tribute to fans, who helped clear snow off the pitch to ensure the game went ahead although admitted that preparation for the match was not ideal, saying: "I didn't see a lot of the players after Boxing Day so preparation was not as professional as I would have liked it to be.

"We had six players missing on Thursday and eight on Friday because they were snowed in in the North East. We have also had nowhere to train outside because of the snow but I want to thank the fans who helped our ground staff get the game on. Without them, it would have been off."

Updated: 10:42 Monday, January 02, 2006