YORK City manager Nigel Worthington has admitted that Aaron McCarey and Michael Ingham face a “close contest” for the goalkeeper’s shirt at Bootham Crescent.

On-loan Wolves shot-stopper McCarey has conceded only once in the last three games after replacing previous temporary signing Nick Pope between the sticks following his recall by parent club Charlton.

Ingham, meanwhile, has not featured in the last six games since the 1-1 home draw with Plymouth in mid-November because of a hip flexor problem.

He did return to the bench, however, for Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate against high-flying Oxford with Worthington revealing that he is close to contending for a recall to the first XI ahead of this afternoon’s Sky Bet League Two clash at Accrington Stanley (3pm).

McCarey’s loan spell is due to expire following the New Year’s Day home meeting with Morecambe and, on his goalkeeping selection dilemma, Worthington said: “It is a close contest.

“Aaron has come in on loan, and he came and collected the ball on a number of occasions on Saturday to take the pressure off us.

“He could have done better a couple of other times, but that’s part and parcel of the game and, overall, he has done very well for us.

“We are having to give Michael sufficient time to get back up to speed with his work and over his injury situation, but he’s not a million miles away.”

Worthington also added that Ryan Bowman’s return from suspension could mean he rotates his three recognised centre forwards, including Ryan Jarvis and Wes Fletcher, during the busy festive period.

He said: “It is good to have Ryan available from a selection point of view.

“It’s a plus for us because the next four games will come thick and fast, and it will be good to be able to mix and match if we need to.”