YORK City boss Gary Mills has admitted his team must target fixtures against the National League’s so-called lesser lights to claw their way out of the relegation zone.

The third-bottom Minstermen have just taken one point from a possible nine during successive matches against promotion contenders Eastleigh, Dagenham and Lincoln.

Now, Mills’ men face a crucial period with five of their next six contests against sides in the bottom half of the table.

That run begins with this weekend’s trip to 14th-placed Bromley, while bottom-of-the-table Guiseley visit Bootham Crescent next Tuesday.

Following a difficult trip to fifth-placed Tranmere a week tomorrow, City return to league action with a home clash against ninth-bottom Torquay.

A festive double-header will then take in the Boxing Day trip to 23rd-placed North Ferriby with a return clash on New Year’s Day.

No visiting team from outside of the division’s top 11 have taken maximum points in North Yorkshire this term and, despite dismal defeats at relegation rivals Southport and Guiseley, two of the Minstermen’s paltry three points away from home have come against clubs in the bottom seven.

Ahead of a trip to a Bromley side just below the mid-table places, Mills reasoned: “You go into every game wanting to win, but we’re at a stage where people look at matches and say we’ve got a chance to win this one, or this one might be tough, or we will do well to get a result against them.

“That’s just football talk and being honest and realistic. We knew the last three games against Eastleigh, Dagenham and Lincoln would be difficult, even though I learned a lot from those matches.

“But, coming into the next period of fixtures, apart from Tranmere, all the teams are in the bottom half of the table, with a couple below us and we’ve got to try and beat the teams in and around us. They are games we need to win and are capable of winning.”

Mills is hoping to strengthen his ranks before the trip to Bromley with the addition of two new recruits and has revealed that he has made an inquiry about an experienced striker, who plied his trade in League Two last season.

He is currently on the books of a fellow National League club, who are willing to loan him out to the Minstermen, but the decision has been left to the forward, who Mills describes as “big with a presence.”

City will make the trip to Bromley without injured pair Lanre Oyebanjo and Danny Galbraith, as well as suspended duo Adriano Moke and Daniel Nti, while Simon Lappin and Aidan Connolly are also set to be ruled out with minor niggles picked up during the 4-1 home defeat to Lincoln on Tuesday night.

That means Mills will be without his two first-choice midfielders, leading him to seethe: “It looks like we will be missing Moke and Lappin and one of them is because of indiscipline, which is unacceptable.

“We’re missing a few players but, sometimes, you derive strength from when things are like this and it helps you go and win a game of football.”

On ex-Premier League midfielder Lappin’s midweek debut, meanwhile, Mills added: “He started well but, as a team, we then got overrun and overpowered, so it’s hard to judge him on that performance and it was always going to take a couple of games for him to get up to speed.

“Unfortunately, it looks like he will miss the next one now.”

Shaun Rooney is set to retain his place in the team, having impressed Mills on his return to the starting XI after being left out of the previous two matches, but he has been warned to maintain the standards he set against Lincoln.

“It was the best I’ve seen from Shaun, but I’ve not seen that from him before and he needs to show me he can play like that week in, week out,” the City boss explained.

Mills added that he does not intend to dwell on the nature of his team’s defeat against the Imps, without ignoring the problems it raised.

“We can’t let one game take away the bit of progress we were making, but we also can’t hide away from the fact that there is work that needs to be done and will be done,” he declared.