SET-PIECE specialist Simon Lappin has admitted that dead-ball deliveries can play a “massive” part in York City’s fight for National League survival.

Lappin provided the flag kick that saw Aarran Racine head City to a crucial 1-0 victory at relegation rivals North Ferriby on Boxing Day.

The 33-year-old midfielder also hit the post from a free kick and sent in another corner that saw Rhys Murphy’s header cleared off the line.

Lappin has previously assumed set-play responsibility at the top levels of the English and Scottish games for the likes of Norwich, St Mirren, Motherwell and St Johnstone and is encouraged by the penalty-box threat posed by the current City squad.

He said: “You obviously want to create chances from open play, but set-pieces are massive at all levels of football. We had a few chances from them at North Ferriby and could have been three, four or five up at half-time.

“I’ve taken set-pieces throughout my whole career, but you can only put the ball in areas and, then, it’s up to guys to get on the end of them and score the goals.”

While many outside the City camp had billed the Ferriby fixture as a must-win match, meanwhile, Lappin revealed, ahead of the return clash at Bootham Crescent on New Year’s Day, there is no greater emphasis being placed of any game, with 60 points still at stake during 2016/17.

“There’s a long, long way to go and we approach every game in the same way because, if you lose sight of that, you can build matches up too much,” the former Scotland under-21 international reasoned. “No disrespect to North Ferriby, but it was just another game and that will be the same for all our remaining fixtures.

“Things can quickly change either way in football and we’ve got 20 games left to play.”

Nevertheless, Lappin took encouragement from the manner of victory in Humberside and suggested that it was the inevitable reward for an upturn in displays during December.

“We were delighted with the result and thoroughly deserved it,” he argued. “We won’t be getting carried away, because it’s only one game, but the performance against Torquay was a good one, as well, in terms of moving the ball and creating chances.

“This game was more of a battle and I think we won our battles all over the pitch. At times, it will be like that, because not every game is a day for pretty football, but we showed steel, desire and a determination to see out the game and not concede.

“The performances have been there in recent times and it’s always only a matter of time before the results come if you keep performing well.”

Lappin went on to admit it had been disappointing missing the five games following his debut against Lincoln due to a calf problem, but he has just focussed on completing his rehabilitation properly to ensure he was prepared properly for a return to senior duty.

“I was glad to be on the pitch after a frustrating few weeks, but injuries are part and parcel of football and you’ve just got to make sure you’re right and ready when you’re called upon, so I was delighted the manager threw me back in,” he explained.