BRADLEY Fewster is working hard to become a "tap-in" specialist for York City.

The on-loan Middlesbrough striker netted from a couple of yards to claim City's second goal in Saturday's 2-1 home triumph over Notts County following Kenny McEvoy's right-wing cross.

Just minutes earlier, he had gone close from the same distance and same source and the 20-year-old revealed that his work with McEvoy in training, coupled with past sessions at his parent club, have helped hone his poaching instinct.

"My goal was just a tap-in, but it doesn't really matter where you've scored from," Fewster reasoned. "It's a goal with your name on the scoresheet and I'm just happy however the ball crosses the line.

"I'm capable of shooting from outside of the box but I've worked hard on being in the right place at the right time with Middlesbrough because I know that gets you extra goals during the season. I also know where Kenny will put the ball because we work well together in training all the time and it's just a matter of me getting on the end of his crosses and putting them in."

Prior to McEvoy and Fewster combining in front of the County goal, Lubo Satka, Michael Coulson, Luke Summerfield and Russell Penn had all been involved in a flowing move that had manager Jackie McNamra purring after the game.

But, illustrating his single-focussed attitude to scoring, Fewster admitted his mind was purely fixed on being in the right position for the next chance of a goal.

He said: "I was only told there was good team work and that we had linked up well after the game because I couldn't remember any of that at the time. I was just concentrating on getting in the right position to stick the ball in."

Ahead of tonight's home meeting with Exeter, Fewster has also stressed how much he is relishing playing in front of an improved atmosphere at Bootham Crescent , following three wins from the last four games on the club's own soil.

"It's great that we're winning our home games and I'm really enjoying playing at Bootham Crescent," he enthused. "The fans are always cheering and it's great to hear the drums, like they have at Boro, because I find it's good to play to a beat."

While his home town are targeting a return to the Premier League, where they last plied their trade when Fewster was 13, the England youth international added that would not prove a distraction from his fight to help preserve City's Football League status.

"I can't affect anything that's happening at Boro, so I'm just focussing on keeping York in League Two," he explained.

"Then, I'll see what happens when I go back. Hopefully, I've got a bright future ahead of me."

McNamara started Fewster at the apex of a 4-2-3-1 formation against County before swiftly deciding to switch to a front two as McEvoy was employed alongside him.

But the lone central striking role is one Fewster is more than happy to fill.

"It's my preferred position," he declared. "It's where I've always played for Middlesbrough and I like being able to freely roam around the opposition's defence. I'm not the biggest, but I can get about and use my pace."

With Jake Hyde and Reece Thompson both used from the bench at the weekend and nine-goal top scorer Vadaine Oliver in with a chance of recovering from a hip injury for Saturday's trip to Cambridge, Fewster also feels City now have multiple attacking choices, saying: "Vadaine offers us something else and he's a presence up front because he's bigger than me and Kenny.

"We can use that if we want get the ball in the air and it's definitely good for the team to have different options. Jake Hyde and Reece Thompson being back gives us that as well so, hopefully, we can all get goals for the team to get us up the table."

Fewster admitted, though, that the team will need to look to the deck if he is to carry on leading the line with ex-Spurs winger McEvoy.

"I thought we were more positive in the first half when me and Kenny just used our pace to get in behind them," he suggested. "That put them on the back foot and was effective but, in the second half, we hit more long balls and I thought they got back in the game a bit."

The 5ft 10in marksman went on to highlight the importance to him of last week's maligned North Riding Cup penalty shoot-out defeat at part-timers Guisborough.

Following two unused substitute outings with the first team, that match gave him his first senior start since the January 2 trip to Yeovil, proving ideal preparation for the County clash

"I've played in games like that before for Middlesbrough's under 21s and they're just scraps on bad pitches but I used it to freshen me up because I hadn't played in the previous match," Fewster explained. "During the previous weeks, the manager told me that being left out was no reflection on how I was doing and, hopefully, I've done enough now to stay in the team."