YORK City utility man Sean Newton believes the club’s summer signings must rid themselves of the baggage caused by the difficult start to the season.

Newton, recruited from Wrexham last month, felt those players who have been with the Minstermen throughout the campaign regarded Lincoln’s first goal during Tuesday night’s 4-1 home defeat as a bigger blow than his fellow recent recruits.

City’s starting XI consisted of six players, inherited by Gary Mills from former boss Jackie McNamara, with the rest of the team made up from new additions.

But, outlining the impact former City midfielder Elliott Whitehouse’s 24th-minute opener had on more than half of the team, Newton reasoned: “I thought the confidence was OK before the Lincoln game.

“It’s taken a bit of a knock now, but it’s up to the gaffer and the lads to get the changing room bouncing because, if we go into the next game feeling negative, it will be an uphill task. Without meaning to be critical, I’ve never been on runs this bad before, where a team hasn’t won away for 14 months or anywhere for 15 matches, but stats are there to be broken and, hopefully, both will be at Bromley tomorrow.

“What I have noticed is, when we concede, it doesn’t seem to affect the new players as much as the players who have been here all season and are under pressure. The confidence just seems to drain from away from them and we have got to make sure, as a team, we get it back, inch by inch, but that comes with winning games and picking up points.”

Having also worked with Mills at Wrexham, the versatile 28-year-old has no doubt that the Minstermen’s former double-Wembley winning chief, who is waiting for his first win seven matches into his second spell at the Bootham Crescent helm, will turn around the club’s fortunes, once the new players have been fully integrated with the existing squad members.

“There are a lot of players here and, sometimes, as a manager, it takes time to get the players in you want and to decide which ones you want to keep who are already here,” Newton pointed out. “You don’t get much time in football and we’ve got to start winning games and the gaffer is definitely the right man to do that, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.

“There were some very good players here already and he’s added quality to that, but it’s just a matter of us all gelling quickly. We’ve had no pre-season together and you would normally have six or seven weeks with a new squad, so we have got to get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses as quickly as we can, but we were unlucky against Dagenham and deserved a win against Sutton.

“The lads also did really well at Eastleigh and, while we were disappointing against Lincoln, I don’t think we are too far away from turning those draws into wins.”

Newton has been used as a left-sided central defender in a back three, a left-wing back and an emergency striker during the three appearances he has made since his switch from North Wales and, whilst he is not a complete stranger to playing in attack, he has a definite idea of what his best role is in the team.

“I’ll play anywhere for the club and give my all,” he declared. “Whether that’s enough at times – I don’t know.

“I did enjoy where I played against Sutton, though, on the left side of a back three. I think that’s my best position and where I felt most comfortable, but I’ll go in goal if needed.

“I’m not somebody who’ll say ‘I’m not playing there’ and, up front, I’m just doing the best I can. I should have scored twice against Lincoln and at least once against Dagenham so, considering that I’m not a forward, I’m getting chances and enjoying it.

“I’ll just have to take each game as it comes and see where I’m playing. I did played as a forward until I was about 14 for Tranmere but, with there not being too many left-footers around, you naturally get moved out to left midfield or left back and I have played there ever since.

“You see the game from a different perspective as a striker and, if I was going to play there, I’d like to have a run in training and a run of games, so the lads around me get used to how I will play up there. I’m not a natural centre forward who will turn with the ball and get at players.

“I will be more likely to get hold of the ball and give it to people like Robbie (McDaid) and Aidan (Connolly).”

Newton has, however, already been given sleepless nights by his two second-half striking cameos in the last two games, having had a shot saved, another hit the bar and seen a further chance go begging when he attempted to square to Daniel Nti rather than pull the trigger himself.

On those opportunities, he said: “I looked across and he was free with the last chance, but the defender might have read what I was doing. If you put me in that position again, I might have a shot, but the keeper came out quickly and made the goal look small.

“I had that chance at 3-1 and hit the bar at 2-0, so I could have changed the game with my decision making and I couldn’t sleep thinking about what I should have done afterwards, but you can’t dwell on it for long and have to move on.”

Having been on the receiving end of a 3-1 opening day defeat at Bromley last term with Wrexham, meanwhile, Newton is not under-estimating tomorrow’s hosts, saying: “Last season, they were big, strong and organised and every game in this league is tough so, whether you’re playing somebody at the top or the bottom, you will get beaten if you don’t turn up.”