JON Parkin has set his next goalscoring landmark after breaking a post-War York City record with his Boxing Day hat-trick at North Ferriby.

The veteran striker, who turns 36 on Saturday, has grabbed the same number of goals in 2017, nudging him ahead of Richard Brodie’s 35-strong haul in a calendar year, achieved during 2009.

But Parkin’s treble also moved him on to 217 career goals, having only racked up his double-century during the 2-1 FA Cup victory at Salford City in September.

The ex-Championship campaigner is now on 21 for the season but, in terms of targets, he is looking at the bigger picture, explaining: “The most I’ve managed in a season is 30 at Forest Green so, hopefully, I can top that, but I’m not really thinking about that.

“The next target in my mind is 250 career goals and, now I’ve got a new deal, I’ve got next season to go at that again.”

Parkin expressed his delight, meanwhile, at replacing Brodie in the Minstermen’s history books, but admitted he would swap that recognition if it meant his tenth-placed team were heading the National League North table going into 2018.

“It’s not too bad is it? Maybe, I should have had more, but I’m delighted with that,” Parkin said of the calendar-year tally. “As I’ve said before, though, it’s not about how many goals I score.

“I’m at the back end of my career and it’s about this club getting three points every game. Hopefully, my goals can just help towards that, but I’m not too bothered if I’m not scoring and we get three points.

“It’s nice to get goals, but I’d rather be on 15 and the team be top of the league. That’s the way it is for me – I’d rather this club be successful, than me score lots of goals.”

Parkin’s treble at Grange Lane also represented the first time any City player has taken home a match-ball since Brodie struck three times during a 5-0 home triumph over AFC Wimbledon, back in April 2010.

But the ex-Hull and Stoke striker felt that achievement was of secondary significance too, with securing a win to end a run of three consecutive defeats the chief concern.

Reflecting on his goals, Parkin reasoned: “All three were good finishes to be honest and they all count the same but, maybe, the third one was the nicest. Tippy (James Gray) flicked it on and I had a touch before managing to swivel and put it in on the volley.

“The other two were all about getting a good contact on the ball and, then, there’s not a lot of time for the keeper to react. I’ve been doing this for a long time now and half-know what I’m doing.

“I’ve scored twice quite a lot of times since coming back to the club, so it was nice to be able to convert that into a hat-trick. But the game was more about getting a reaction and three points.

“We had a little bit of a sticky first ten minutes in the second half but, overall, we were in control of the game.”

Despite fellow forward Amari Morgan-Smith and skipper Sean Newton a distant second in City’s 2017/18 goalscoring charts on four, Parkin went on to insist that he feels no burden in terms of the team’s reliance on himself to find the back of the net.

“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” he declared. “I’ve been doing this a long time and football’s not pressure.

“For me, it’s my job and I just try to do it to the best of my ability.”

With City having won at Ferriby last term on Boxing Day, before losing 1-0 on New Year’s Day to the same opponents at Bootham Crescent, Parkin is in no mood for complacency either in Monday’s corresponding fixture.

“It will be a totally different game,” he argued. “The three points at their place have been put to bed now and we’re concentrating on the home match.

“We’re not looking ahead of that, because the next game is always the most important one and we’ve got to start well like we did at Ferriby and get a good result.”

Despite Parkin’s birthday coinciding with a rare football-free Saturday, he is set to keep the celebrations low-key, as he did prior to the Ferriby game, pointing out: “I had a good Christmas Day with just the one can of lager before my dinner.

“Christmas Day isn’t about me anymore, it’s about my little boy and we had a really nice day.”