JON Parkin turned 35 over the festive period but feels he can carry on playing every second of York City's National League relegation dogfight.

The 6ft 4in forward has been an ever-present for the Minstermen following his arrival from Newport County last month, having only played a full 90 minutes in four of his 11 outings for the Welsh club this term.

Last season, meanwhile, Parkin completed just ten of his 42 league appearances for Forest Green – but he has now been involved in every kick of City's last five fixtures, which represents the former Championship campaigner's longest sequence at any club since May 2015.

On his staying power, Parkin insisted: "I feel I can still play 90 minutes and contribute for 90 minutes. If I was playing 90 minutes but I was a waste of space for the last 15 or 20, then that would be no good to anybody, but I don't think that's the case."

With 181 career goals to his name, Parkin is also confident he will hit the target soon, having not scored in four league contests following his return to City, where he last plied his trade in 2004.

But he reasoned that his individual success is secondary to the team's fortunes, explaining: "I don't seem to be getting any easy chances at the minute – but I'll keep plugging away and I'm sure the goals will come.

"I've had this once or twice in my career, when I've not scored for a few games, and hopefully I'll keep getting in the same positions and that will change.

"If I don't score until the end of the season but we stay up, I'll be more than happy with that. But if I'm not scoring and we're not getting results, it will bother me, because it's my job to score goals and if I score more goals, there's more chance of us getting wins."

While pleased with The Press' City Player of the Month prize he pocketed for December, Parkin went on to add that he would have swapped the award for more wins during the final four fixtures of 2016 to add to the successes against North Ferriby in the league and Worcester City in the FA Trophy.

"It was nice but, to be honest, I'd rather not have had it and we started to pick up three points more often," he reasoned.

Parkin is now preparing for a demanding contest at promotion hopefuls Dover on Saturday, having failed to net in six previous tussles with the Kent side for Forest Green – including last season's play-off semi-final that the Gloucestershire side narrowly edged 2-1 on aggregate.

The City target man is expecting close attention from the hosts and, explaining their unique approach to matches, he pointed out: "It will be a difficult game.

"They play differently to any other team I have played against. They all play man-to-man and it's a tough place to go.

"We'll have to see whether the boy (Ricky) Miller is still there or they sell him – but we'll still need to roll up our sleeves and do all we can to get a result."