RICHARD Brodie is unlikely to start home games for York City until he improves his fitness levels.

The 29-year-old forward, who finished last season playing part-time football for Stockport, is still coming to terms with the physical requirements of returning to the professional ranks, but City chief Jackie McNamara is pleased with the progress he is making.

Brodie has been introduced after the 80-minute mark in both of the Minstermen's opening two matches and McNamara admitted that the larger dimensions of Bootham Crescent's playing surface this term means the Gateshead-born marksman might struggle to complete a full match in his current condition.

The City striker, who scored 37 goals in the final full season of his first spell with the Minstermen before a 2010 move to Crawley, received a great reception from the fans when he entered the action in Tuesday night's 1-0 win over Macclesfield.

Brodie missed training today as he expects to become a father for the first time, but he is expected to take his place on the bench for Saturday's home match with Boreham Wood.

"The fans were happy to see him on the pitch on Tuesday and they will be even more pleased when they see him a lot sharper and fitter," McNamara reasoned. "But everything is getting better from him.

"His body size has improved as he makes the adjustment from part-time to full-time football. He's working hard and is very keen to do extra work with Simon (Donnelly) after training.

"Starting a game at home, now the pitch is a bit bigger, is asking a bit from him until we get him fully fit but, at grounds like Maidstone, where it was tight and smaller and the ball was in the air all the time, he can still play a big part."

City will continue to be without injured trio Lanre Oyebanjo (calf), Reece Thompson (stomach) and Danny Galbraith (heel), as well as suspended midfielder Franklyn Clarke, who will be sitting out his third match of a four-game ban.

Left-back Ben Barber will not be risked either, as he continues to recover from the hamstring problem that sidelined him throughout pre-season.

But striker Scott Fenwick (bruised back) and defender Matt Fry (groin) are expected to feature after picking up problems in the midweek win.

Boreham Wood visit North Yorkshire having surprisingly defeated two of last term's play-off qualifiers Forest Green and Dover during their opening games and, despite the Hertfordshire club's modest history, McNamara is not under-estimating the challenge they pose, saying: "There won't be any comfortable games this season and we have to treat everyone with respect.

"They have started the season very well. They beat a very strong Forest Green side when nobody thought they would and then had another big win, albeit after the opposition went down to ten men.

"They play 4-2-3-1 and have got some good players, so it's important we don't get caught on the counter attack and pass the ball properly to avoid giving them any encouragement."

Trialist striker Dean Smalley, meanwhile, is no longer training with the club, but City are still on the lookout for strikers with Thompson in the treatment room and Brodie short of match fitness.

McNamara is also running the rule over the youth team, who started their campaign with a 3-2 victory at Bradford City.

"We've not done anything with Deane Smalley after he got injured and he's not here," the Minstermen boss explained. "We were going to look at another forward, but nothing has happened on that front yet either.

"I'm also looking at the kids. They started the season well, so we'll see if any of them can push to get in and around the first-team squad."

It has been confirmed, meanwhile, that the goal, credited to Fry against Macclesfield, was actually an own goal scored by ex-City defender John McCombe.