JON Parkin will not be risked on Tamworth’s 3G pitch this weekend, but would feature on the artificial surface if York City are required to travel to neighbours Harrogate Town in the play-offs.

The 25-goal striker dislikes the rubber-based turf because of the impact it has on an old knee injury and he also missed the Minstermen’s National League North trip to Harrogate in September.

But City chief Martin Gray admitted that the stakes would be too high for the 36-year-old veteran to sit out another potential visit to Wetherby Road, even if it meant he was then ruled out of a subsequent play-off final appearance.

If Harrogate finish the season in their current league position of second, Simon Weaver’s men would be guaranteed home advantage in the play-off semi-finals and, if they negotiated that tie, in the final too.

On City’s possible end-of-season dilemma, Gray said: “We would play Jon in a semi-final at Harrogate because, if you don’t win that, you don’t get to the final and where you want to be.

“It’s all a long way down the road yet but, if it came to that scenario, you’ve got to put your main striker out there and hope his knee is alright. But he won’t be playing at Tamworth because, If he did, he might then need to miss four games and, with 14 left, it would be crazy to do that for the sake of one match.”

Parkin’s place at the Lamb Ground could be filled by a new signing, with Gray hoping to make forward reinforcements on top of his bid to recruit Middlesbrough midfielder Alex Pattison for a second loan spell.

The Football League transfer window closed without City’s December Player of the Month Pattison leaving the Riverside, meaning only moves to non-League clubs are now open to him and Gray added: “We’re on the phone to Middlesbrough all the time about Alex, because he was magnificent for us.

“I’ve got great relationships with the staff there and we’re hoping we can get him in the building before Saturday’s game. His ambition is to play in the Football League, but a move didn’t happen during the window for certain reasons and we can be a great learning curve for him.

“We’re also trying to do something in the attacking area of the pitch and there might be one or two players coming in, which I think we need for the final push, because the squad needs a bit more strength in depth. As well as the chairman supports us, though, there’s not unlimited resources at the club and we can’t just keep signing players, so they have to improve the team.”

Aside from Parkin’s unavailability, Gray went on to insist that the 3G pitch should not be a “big issue” for the visitors as they look to avenge the 3-2 defeat exacted by Tamworth at Bootham Crescent in October.

“We’ve trained on York St John’s Haxby Road pitch on Thursday and Friday this week and their 3G surface is as good as anywhere, so the players know what to expect and there will be no excuses,” the City boss reasoned. “You certainly can’t blame bobbles on these pitches.

“The ball moves a bit quicker and it gives teams a slight advantage when they train and play on them, but you just have to adapt straight away. We’re not playing on a beach - it’s still a football pitch and there’s no big issue really.

“The players have had a real grilling from me this week about the standards that need to be maintained at this football club. We have got a point to prove and need to go out all guns blazing to take three points.

“We lost 3-2 at home to them, which was very disappointing, because we deserved more out of the game, but there was a moment of madness and we’ve worked hard to improve the mentality at the club and we’ve got to get back to winning ways.

“We were on such a good run before Stockport, where I felt our performance was very good in the second half, but that seven-minute window in the first half cost us two goals.”

Aidan Connolly returns to the fold after illness ruled him out of the 2-0 loss at Stockport, where Gray felt his absence was noticeable, following a run of 16 points from a possible 18.

“He’s trained all week and is fine,” the City boss pointed out. “I think we missed him a bit last weekend, especially the way the game went in the second half.

“He could have given us that craft and quality to produce a goal when we were in charge of the ball.”