YORK City’s returning boss Gary Mills has welcomed the appointment of his predecessor Jackie McNamara as the club’s chief executive.

Mills has pointed out that McNamara’s new role will allow him to pay full attention to football matters.

“Jackie will take a bit of the workload off me so I can concentrate purely on the first-team players and getting them focussed on what their jobs are,” the 2012 double-Wembley winning chief explained. “It’s tougher to manage at this level than in the Premier League, believe it or not, because you have to do everything.

“Jackie’s a great bloke and, whilst it did not work out for him on the management side, he will do a great job on the other side of things and that helps me.” Despite being sacked by City chairman Jason McGill in 2013, Mills also dismissed any suggestion that decision will affect his working relationship with the club’s owner.

“I had to respect that the chairman thought he was making the right decision last time, but we’re both dignified and not too proud and know this was the right thing to happen now,” he reasoned. “I spoke to the chairman late on Saturday and, then, before I knew it, I was up in York talking to him.”

Mills is also hoping ex-Tottenham and Reading midfielder Darren Caskey - the assistant manager in his previous job at Wrexham – can fulfil the same role at Bootham Crescent.

“Darren Caskey and I work well together,” Mills said. “He’s contracted to Wrexham, but I’m hoping he will come in and help me.”