YORK City boss Gary Mills would “love” to make Rhys Murphy and Aarran Racine’s loan stays permanent, but is still to hear whether parent club Forest Green want them back in January.

Defender Racine and striker Murphy have both impressed and scored during their four-match spells at Bootham Crescent and were given permission to play for City in the FA Trophy.

But the Gloucestershire side have failed to win any of their last five games, leading Mills to ponder whether recalls might be in the offing for both players, who are eligible for the next two Minstermen matches under the terms of the current agreement.

On the possibility of extending their stays, either on a temporary or more full-time basis, Mills admitted: “I’d certainly like to keep them both until the end of the season and don’t want to lose them, because they’ve been a big part of what we have done over the last month.

“They’ve done exactly what I have wanted. I’ve not spoken to Forest Green yet, so we’ll have to wait and see.

“They’ve had a couple of poor results, so you wonder whether that might make a difference and, at the end of the day, they’re not our players. I’d love to have them permanently and, whilst it’s probably a bit too early to be talking about that, if they’re not in Forest Green’s plans, there’s always a chance that could happen.”