YORK City manager Jackie McNamara has admitted he does not have a points target for survival in mind.

Only 42 points were needed to avoid relegation from Sky Bet League Two last term as Cheltenham and Torquay went down.

But, during the previous two campaigns, 51 and 52 points were required to beat the drop.

If City were to match the latter haul, it would equate to winning ten and drawing two of their remaining 19 games.

But McNamara is only setting his sights on climbing above those teams currently within striking distance of his bottom-of-the-table squad, who currently lie four points from safety.

He said: "When I first came in, 52 points was mentioned as the safety mark but, personally, I just want to catch the teams above us. The likes of Stevenage are in our sights now and, whilst out two games in hand are difficult, nothing worries me."

One of those matches will be Northampton at home on February 23 but, ahead of this weekend's trip to the league leaders, McNamara insists his team can shock the hosts.

"They are a well-organised side with good players who move the ball around well and it also sticks when it goes up front but, if we do things properly and stick to our gameplan, we can cause an upset," he claimed. "I want to raise the players' belief and instil confidence and the pressure, expectations and demands will be on them because it's top v bottom at their home stadium.

"But we drew at Carlisle and beat Stevenage, so we can build on those four points from the last six. We will look at their strengths and weaknesses and they have players who can hurt you.

"They have good movement in behind the strikers, so we've got to be switched on first and foremost and compact in certain areas, but we need to be able to go anywhere knowing we are capable of winning three points."