YORK City manager Nigel Worthington believes the club can look forward to the new year with positivity despite ending 2013 just outside the Sky Bet League Two relegation zone on goal difference.

The Minstermen kick off 2014 this afternoon at home to Morecambe, having completed exactly half of their 46 League fixtures.

Worthington’s men have only won four of those opening 23 games, while drawing ten, but the City chief has seen enough during the first five months of the campaign to leave him encouraged and optimistic about his team’s prospects for the remainder of this term.

He does, however, want his team to rediscover their cutting edge, having only managed two goals from open play during their last eight League matches.

Delivering his verdict on the season so far, former Norwich and Northern Ireland manager Worthington said: “My half-term assessment would be that the performance levels have been quite good but I am disappointed not to have another three wins on the board.

“That’s the game of football for you though. We have become hard to beat but we have got to get back on that goalscoring trail.

“We are all in it together and there has been enough good stuff during the first part of the season to be positive about the second half so we’ve got to make it happen now.”

Having played every other team in the division now and not been beaten by any of the sides currently occupying the top five places, Worthington also feels his players should not be daunted or surprised by anything promotion hopefuls Morecambe have to offer today.

“It will be no different to any other League Two game,” he reasoned.

“We need to do what we do well and get our teeth into the game to get a good result.

“I was disappointed for our fans with the first-half performance at Bury and hopefully that can be put right because our support in the last two games would be the envy of most League Two and League One teams.”

Centre-backs Chris Smith (ankle) and Dan Parslow (knee) will still be sidelined for the Morecambe match but Worthington can otherwise choose from a full squad, although the registration of new striker Shaq McDonald will not be completed until Saturday’s home game with Dagenham.