CRISIS club Kettering are hoping to have 14 players on duty at York City tomorrow.

The Poppies, whose players have been told they will not be paid in December, have only been able to name two substitutes for their last two matches but Jamie Navarro’s return from suspension should bolster their ranks slightly at Bootham Crescent.

Injury-prone former Minsterman Djoumin Sangare, however, played for just over an hour at right-back with a thigh injury during Tuesday’s 3-0 defeat at Fleetwood Town and, if he fails a fitness test, manager Mark Stimson will be back down to 13 players.

Of the players that tasted action at Fleetwood, six have started just ten senior games between them.

They are Aldi Haxhia, Ellis Deeney, Kiernon Hughes-Mason, Josh Dawkin, Robbie Dance and Mark Pyror.

Goalkeeper Haxhia has been handed his chance in goal due to Lawrie Walker’s three-game ban, which will be completed after tomorrow’s fixture.

Chairman Imraan Ladak has put the club up for sale and five players moved on during last week’s deadline for loan signings.

As well as Moses Ashikodi’s switch to Bootham Crescent, Adam Cunnington and Jean-Paul Marna departed for Dagenham and Corby respectively, while Marcus Kelly and Aman Verma both joined Mansfield.

Leon McKenzie, Steve Meechan, Nathan Koo-Boothe and Phil Ifil, meanwhile, are currently in the treatment room.

With the players only being paid 75 per cent of their salaries last month and the Supporters’ Trust having conducted bucket collections to cover travel expenses, on-field performances have also unsurprisingly suffered as the club have gone six league games without a win and eight matches since their last clean sheet.

Only Alfreton (51) and Hayes & Yeading (48) have shipped more league goals than the 42 conceded by the Poppies this term.

At the other end of the pitch, Marna remains the leading marksman on eight but with him, Ashikodi and Cunnington having departed, crocked three-goal McKenzie is now top scorer from the players left on the club’s books with Sangare (two) and midfielder David Bridges (two) the most prolific from those with a chance of featuring tomorrow.

Kettering (probable): Haxhia, Sangare, Swaibu, Ifil, Davis, Noubissie, O’Leary, Bridges, Navarro, Dawkin, Hughes-Mason.

match facts

THE Poppies have made three previous Conference visits to Bootham Crescent.

In 2008/9, the game ended goalless and the following season City won 2-0 thanks to two goals from Richard Brodie.

The corresponding fixture last term was won by Town 1-0.

The game was played on October 5, 2010, and at the time City were under the caretaker managership of Andy Porter.

The line-up was: Ingham, Parslow, McGurk, Young, Meredith, Till, Barrett (J Smith), Lawless, Fyfield, Constantine (Gash), Beesley (Dowson).

Players who have appeared for both clubs include goalkeeper Peter Pickering plus Keith Walwyn, Chris Beardsley, pictured left, Luke Graham, Jon Challinor, Andre Boucaud and Moses Ashikodi.

City are seeking their first league double of the campaign having beaten Kettering 5-1 at Nene Park in August.

It happened on December 3

1951: City lost 4-0 to Bradford Park Avenue in the FA Cup in a first round second replay staged at Elland Road in front of 10,000 people.

1955: Arthur Bottom was the marksman in a 1-0 win over Gateshead at Bootham Crescent. The Division Three North encounter was watched by a crowd of 9,714.

1977: In front of Bootham Crescent’s then smallest crowd – 1,284 – City and Torquay United drew 0-0 in Division Four.

1983: City beat Aldershot 2-0 at home to stretch their lead at the top of the Fourth Division.The crowd was 3,951 and on the scoresheet were John Byrne and Alan Pearce.

1988: A 4-1 home success over Hereford United in Division Four thanks to goals from Ian Helliwell (2), Tony Canham and Gary Himsworth, pictured right, in front of an attendance of 1,698.

Compiled by David Batters