YORK City boss Gary Mills has admitted that the club’s perilous position in the National League is hindering his attempts to recruit reinforcements.

Mills was knocked back by an experienced striker from the same division, who played in Sky Bet League Two last season, during the build-up to this afternoon’s 3-0 defeat at Bromley.

He also remains in the market for two new centre backs, but confessed attracting the right players is becoming problematic.

With City having dropped to second-bottom in the table, he went on to suggest that the club cannot afford to wait for January when the Football League transfer window is likely to result in more players becoming available. On his recruitment dilemma, Mills said: “The chairman has told me to get whatever we need and I know what we need. It’s not easy getting it, but I will keep trying.

“There will be more players available in January, but we’ve got five or six games left before then and there are a lot of points to be won and lost, so I’ve got to try and change it now. We missed out on a couple of players that I knew would make us stronger last week and some players look where we are and don’t want to come for a relegation battle.

“The striker I spoke about during the week was one of them, which was a blow, but, after highlighting who I want, I can’t do anything about that, because it’s up to them whether they come. This game also showed we need a couple of centre backs to make us stronger, because we are coming up against teams who are defending properly, but we conceded two free headers.”

For the third successive game, the Minstermen conceded from their opponents’ first on-target attempt with Jack Holland heading in from a Blair Turgott free kick after five minutes.

George Porter went on to add a second just before the half-hour mark before sub Adam Cunnington completed the scoring on 78 minutes, heading in a Turgott corner, meaning City have shipped five goals in their last two matches from set-piece situations.

Delivering his verdict on the performance, Mills added: “A ball from a free kick came into our box and we didn’t even have anybody in the hole to head it away. We were screaming from the bench to get somebody in there, but it didn’t happen, so the ball ended up in the back of our net and that put us on the back foot after five minutes.

“We conceded a silly, first goal against Lincoln as well and the first goal is massive when you’re in our position. We’re conceding poor goals and I would love a poor goal.

“We’ve been 2-0 down at half-time in the last three games and we never really looked like we could get ourselves back in the game during the second half and, once they got the third goal, it was over.”

The Minstermen now play host on Tuesday night to a Guiseley team, who leapfrogged their hosts following a 3-1 home triumph over Boreham Wood.

A four-point gap has also opened up to a position outside the relegation zone and, on the club’s current situation, Mills reasoned: “It’s not easy for anybody at the football club, especially for our supporters who travelled all that way to Bromley.

“Some vented their anger and I can understand that, because it’s so hard for them to travel and pay their money to see another defeat. The pressure is mounting now and it’s how you handle that to get out of this situation.

“We have to remain strong and together because, if we’re not, that makes the opposition’s job easier and keeping the team positive through this tough time is the most difficult job.”

Kyle Letheren, meanwhile, was recalled in goal at the expense of Scott Flinders and, explaining that decision, Mills pointed out: “I’d only seen Kyle in one game, which he did excellent in and I needed to see him in another match, because that position is so, so important and I want to make sure I play the right one.

“Kyle held his hand up for the second goal, but these things happen and we haven’t been losing games because of the two keepers.”

On-loan Barnsley striker Jake Charles and former Oldham midfielder Luke Woodland were also given their full City debuts, with Mills saying: “They both did OK.

“Jake worked hard and we saw in the first half that he likes to get down the sides of teams.”

Mills went on to confirm that he replaced midfielder Charlie Cooper with striker Scott Fenwick at half-time for tactical reasons.

“I thought I needed to put another striker on, but that didn’t really make much difference to the game,” he declared.