York City beat Hibs to sign Ben Gibson (From York Press)

York City beat Hibs to sign Ben Gibson

12:00pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Sport By Dave Flett, Sports reporter

Ben Gibson settling into his new surroundings at Bootham Crescent, where he will wear York City’s number 27 shirt after signing on loan until the end of the campaign

YORK City beat off interest from the Scottish Premier League to sign highly-rated Middlesbrough defender Ben Gibson on loan until the end of the season.

Gibson, who is in the Minstermen’s squad for tomorrow’s scheduled Blue Square Bet Premier clash at Grimsby, made his Championship debut for the Riverside club last season as a first-half substitute in a 2-1 home win over Coventry.

The Nunthorpe-born 19-year-old has since impressed during a 13-game spell with League Two strugglers Plymouth and also arrives at Bootham Crescent with a strong international pedigree, having been a member of the first England men’s team to win major tournament in 17 years – the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

With David McGurk (knee) and Jamal Fyfield (ankle) both still crocked, Gibson will now come into consideration for a centre-back place at Blundell Park along with the likes of captain Chris Smith, Dan Parslow and fellow new signing Chris Doig.

Commenting on his latest capture, City boss Gary Mills said: “Hibs showed an interest in Ben last week so I am delighted to have brought him to our club. He’s a good, young player, who has a hunger for the game and, despite his age, is already a man.

“He’s been down at Plymouth for three months and done well at a club in not the best of circumstances. I like his attitude. He’s a good talker for a young player and his desire is fantastic.

“His signing makes us stronger defensively and gives us more competition for places. He will be able to play for the rest of the season, including the play-off final if needed and that’s important.

“Like my last three signings before him, he’s another left footer but, more important than that, they are all good players and need to show that now.”

With Gibson hoping to make his City debut, Mills also refused to rule out the possibility of 15-goal top scorer Jason Walker starting the match despite missing the last eight games due to a groin injury.

Walker has been back in training for two weeks now, completing half of a reserve game at Middlesbrough in that time, with Mills adding: “Jason Walker is looking good and I’ve been really pleased with him.

“The weather situation has not been ideal for him but he played 45 minutes at Middlesbrough and he’s trained really well and has certainly put himself in contention for tomorrow’s game.”

In-form Grimsby go into the match having won seven of their last eight league matches, taking 22 points from a possible 24 to move up to seventh in the table three points behind City.

But Mills is undaunted by the trip to North Lincolnshire, saying: “It’s a tough game but a fantastic one to look forward to.

“If you want to be winners, you have to go and beat the best teams and, at this moment in time, Grimsby’s form is better than anybody else but I know we can go there and beat them.”

The game remains in doubt due to the freezing weather that has meant City’s Wigginton Road training ground has been out of bounds this week.

On the consequences of the cold snap, the Minstermen chief said: “I hate it. You can’t train how you want to and you are forever waiting to hear if games are on or not.

“We coped with it for a long time last season though and you just have to continue preparing as if you will have a game.

“I’d also like to say thank you to PlayFootball at Clifton Moor in that respect because, even though we are restricted in terms of what we can work on up there, their facilities have been a god-send and they have been fantastic to us.

“It’s impossible to work on things like set-plays but it has helped keep the players ticking over and kept them mentally sharp.

“In terms of people’s fitness levels, the break isn’t really a problem at this stage of the season.

“It would have been in September but, with 15 games to play, it’s more about keeping everybody mentally focused now.”