YORK City boss Nigel Worthington has called for discipline on and off the pitch as the club renew their old rivalry with Luton Town.

The Hatters arrive at Bootham Crescent to face a Minstermen team, who are only likely to include Michael Ingham from the Conference era in which the two clubs became fierce adversaries.

Tomorrow night's meeting will be the first between the two teams since City defeated Luton in the 2012 play-off final at Wembley and Worthington wants no repeat of past troubles.

In 11 non-League contests between the two sides, six red cards were shown to players and, following one match, former Luton manager Gary Brabin was found guilty of threatening behaviour and words, but cleared of assaulting match stewards, after being sent off himself.

City players and supporters were also pelted with coins by pitch-invading home fans at the end of the 2010 play-off semi-final between the two clubs at Kenilworth Road but Worthington wants all previous enmity consigned to the past.

During Worthington's 18-month reign at Bootham Crescent, only two players - strikers Ryan Bowman and Richard Cresswell - have seen red and the City chief has hammered home the importance of preserving the club's "fantastic" reputation against the Bedfordshire visitors.

He said: There's an edge to this fixture but everybody has got to be in control. I know about the history, but both myself and (current Luton manager) John Still were not part of it and you can't get caught up in that.

"York City have a fantastic name within the game of football and it's important, as staff, players and supporters, that we maintain that and keep our dignity. I'm sure Luton will feel the same.

"Everything else is in the past and we need to focus on this game to conduct ourselves properly and perform well. The chairman holds the club in a good light here, as do I.

"It's very, very important the players and supporters do the same and in my time they have done. Discipline is everything on and off the pitch and in life."

Having fielded the same starting line-up for three consecutive games, Worthington is expected to wield the axe against the Hatters following Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Burton, with under-fire wing pair Lindon Meikle and Anthony Straker the most likely casualties.

On that prospect, he said: "We might make a change or two and nobody can say they haven't had an opportunity in the various positions. If somebody finds they're not in the team, there will be a reason and that's the cruel game of football.

"I'm only here to try and get results and push the club forward."

But Ryan Jarvis will not be in contention for a second league start of the season with Worthington revealing that the 28-year-old forward is suffering from a puzzling condition that means he can only currently complete a maximum of 15 minutes before becoming tired.

"Jarv has had an ongoing problem since the end of last season," Worthington explained. "He is only capable of playing in short bursts and then his energy levels are low and he's struggling to breathe.

"It has been looked into with tests but nothing has shown up yet. There's nothing to suggest there's an issue but, until something changes, it will probably be the bench for Jarv rather than starting games.

"He has not got the energy levels to play consistently for 80 or 90 minutes. He's not shown that even in training and he blows up after ten or 15 minutes."

Worthington, meanwhile, has demanded that his players retain possession better against Luton than they managed for long periods at the weekend, adding: "Other than the first 15 or 20 minutes at Burton, we didn't pass the ball well enough.

"We are a better team when we pass the ball at tempo and it's important we start well and take the game to Luton in a controlled manner. They are a big, strong side, so we have to compete with them and have the courage to play.

"They get big crowds, so they are no mugs and have the finances to buy players and pay good salaries but that's them and we will be focussing on ourselves."

The City chief is also pleased to be given a midweek opportunity to bounce back from losing for the first time in 24 regular league fixtures on Saturday.

"I don't like getting beaten so Burton was a huge disappointment and we want to put that right straight away," Worthington said. "We've got a chance to do that sooner rather than later and start another decent run, which is better than having to mull things over for a week."

Worthington went on to suggest he now has loan targets in mind to bolster his ranks.

"Phone calls have been made and we are waiting on other clubs to see what the situation is," he announced. "I'm not expecting anybody to be here in time to play against Luton though."

The City boss also ruled out exploiting his family connection to cousin Brendan Rodgers - the manager of Liverpool.

"Anybody coming out of there is on decent money and you need to have realistic targets," he reasoned.