YORK City Knights did not add to their squad on transfer deadline day but head coach James Ford said the club nevertheless made the biggest and best signing possible - agreeing community stadium terms.

The deal, described as a significant milestone in the City of York Council's stadium project, means the team can finally set up a permanent training base at York St John University's state-of-the-art sports centre, having previously had to borrow venues from community clubs and partner club Castleford Tigers.

They should also be able to play home matches at York City's Bootham Crescent ground, subject to formalities being put in place, having hitherto staged games this year at Heworth ARLC, York RUFC and out of the city in Featherstone and Doncaster.

It all means the players will travel to South Wales for tomorrow night's League One match against the Scorpions (6pm) in buoyant mood and with a big fillip for their promotion battle, according to Ford.

The head coach also accepts the buck now stops with him as they "play catch-up" in training while setting sights on a top-two finish in the league.

"We've waited a long time for this," he said. "Everyone has - the players, supporters, coaches, the board.

"Step be step, week by week, it's been a slow process and I really must commend the patience and solidarity of the players and fans.

"The squad have stuck together when preparations have been so hampered, and for that they deserve so much credit.

"We've got our facilities back. It's time to catch up on some of the time we've missed and I'm sure the boys are looking forward to doing that.

"It's going to be a big boost coming into the final third of the season. I'm a big believer in getting the environment right. When you set standards high, you can take a club quite some distance. We've got standards on the field right and this is another important piece of the jigsaw.

"The ball is in my court now and that of my staff to get our preparation bang on. It would be pretty easy to overdo it now we've got these facilities back so we have to be careful with that. But it will be a big boost mentally for the squad."

The St John facilities include a 3G all-weather pitch, a bespoke gym, a review room, meeting room and store. Players previously have had to do much of their gym work in their own time, unmonitored.

Said Ford: "A gym facility is fundamental to the development of a rugby league player. It's a gym facility for professional athletes where we can train like a rugby league player, not a 'normal' person, so to speak.

"We'll have a proper review room, a first-class field, just a base where we can get into a proper routine and manage things.

"It's a massive benefit getting this facility back. I'm really excited about getting in there and I'm sure the boys are as well."

Asked if the pressure was now on, without the excuse of homelessness for any shortcomings in the fight to go up, Ford said: "We're never going to get our pre-season back until next season. Pre-season provides a lot of the foundations. It will be hard to make up for that but I think we can come up with a plan to do so.

"We won't make the strides we could have made but we're not going to use that as an excuse.

"We're going forward as a group physically and mentally and if the supporters get behind us there's no reason why we can't have a right good crack at it."