YORK City will travel to Whitby Town in the North Riding Cup on Tuesday night, but former Bootham Crescent midfielder and current Seasiders assistant-manager Lee Bullock has insisted he would “hate” for the game to become a league fixture next season.

Bullock and Whitby boss Chris Hardy have masterminded a surprise promotion challenge this term with the Turnbull Ground outfit lying second in the Evo-Stik League North premier division table just two points behind leaders Rushall Olympic.

The Minstermen, meanwhile, are propping up the National League table, meaning that should the horrific spectre of relegation befall them at the end of 2016/17, the club could be operating at the same level as their North Yorkshire neighbours.

It is a scenario Bullock, who made 202 appearances and scored 27 goals during two separate spells with City, is desperate to avoid, despite his past and present allegiances.

“I would hate for that to happen and you can’t imagine it,” he explained. “York played a massive part in my football life.

“When I came back in 2012 that was spoiled and soured a bit for a few reasons. It didn’t work out as I had hoped, but they’re still the second or third result I look out for each game.

“I’d obviously be delighted if we got promoted at Whitby, but it wouldn’t be good for football in North Yorkshire if a good club like York went down to the National League North. It’s not easy to get out of either when you’re in it, as the likes of Stockport, Boston, Darlington and Halifax are finding out.

“Fingers crossed, it won’t happen. Gary Mills will certainly be sheltering his starting XI from all the pressure of the situation.”

Having risen through the youth ranks with City, Bullock is also hoping the future of the club’s academy does not come under the threat of closure, which would be an inevitable consideration if the first team drop into the realms of part-time football.

“I’ve worked at Hull and Middlesbrough’s academies, as well as at Hartlepool College, and there are a lot of good young players everywhere,” he pointed out. “It’s a little honour for them to get a place in an academy as well and they get to learn from decent coaches.

“It’s not just about the professional players and it would be disastrous if those eight to 16-year-olds missed out on that opportunity through no fault of their own. It’s the academy that I came through and I’m still in touch with my coaches from that time – Brian Neaves and Paul Stancliffe and I made friendships that I have kept since the age of 13.”

Bullock reasons, meanwhile, that Whitby offer an example of, if you can survive one poor season in football, you can thrive the next campaign, which tallies with City chief Mills’ vision for the future.

On Whitby’s transformation under the Hardy-Bullock management team, the ex-Bradford City and Cardiff midfielder revealed: “We were seven points adrift of safety last season when the manager came in and I was made assistant, but we ended up surviving with two games to go.

“Once you pull off a win and get another one you can get some momentum, although every defeat can be really bad for you when you’re struggling if the teams around you win. This season has come as a big surprise and a massive bonus, as the plan was just to finish safe and get ourselves sorted, while maybe going on a little cup run, but now we’re at the point where we need to give serious consideration to trying to stay up there and get into the next league.

“It’s tough because, like in the two divisions above, only one team goes up automatically but, if we can reach the play-offs, that would be a remarkable achievement in itself.”

Bullock went on to express his sadness at the blame that has been apportioned to City chairman Jason McGill during the club’s struggles over the last two seasons, with the fight to fend off back-to-back relegations now the focus for the once proud Football League outfit.

McGill has pumped more than £3million into the club, some of which he will not recoup now due to the protracted move to a new stadium, with Bullock adding: “Jason has done wonders at the club and he’s getting grief at the moment, which astonishes me.

“He’s put his money in and has nothing but York City’s best interests at heart, so people need to stick by him. He sticks by his managers and gives them time so, hopefully, he can get it right because, if it wasn’t for him, there might not have been a club a long time before now.”

Having shared a dressing room with Jon Parkin for two years during the pair’s first spells at Bootham Crescent, Bullock is happy, meanwhile, to see his former team-mate tasked with the responsibility of helping preserve National League status this season.

“I actually thought about Parky when the team were struggling because I felt he would be the ideal person to bring in,” Bullock said. “He’s had an unbelievable career after leaving the club at the same time as me and became a seriously good centre forward at a really good level.

“He was always a great laugh and had great ability. You just wondered at York whether he had the professionalism to go higher up, but he did and played for some good teams.

“If anybody can haul the club out of trouble and rescue them, I think Jon can and that would be a fitting end to the season for him and the team.”

KYLE Letheren extended his lead at the top of The Press Player of the Year standings after winning our man-of-the-match award during the 1-0 home defeat to North Ferriby last weekend.

The former Blackpool keeper collected three points for that honour to move five clear of nearest rival Alex Whittle.

Left-wing back Whittle was our second-highest performer, meaning he picked up two points towards the contest.

Jon Parkin received the remaining point on offer as our third-highest rated player.

The two Player of the Month bonus points, meanwhile, went to Whittle after he topped our Twitter man-of-the-match poll and he is the early leader of that competition.

The Press Player of the Year standings: Letheren 25, Whittle 20, Connolly 16, Heslop 13, Brodie 12, Kamdjo 10, Flinders 8, Fry 8, Klukowski 8, Higgins 7, Newton 7, Lappin 6, Felix 5, Galbraith 5, Parkin 5, Rooney 5, Holmes 3, Murphy 3, Clappison 2, Dixon 2, Racine 2, Wright 2, Cooper 1, Nti 1, Oyebanjo 1, Rzonca 1, Simpson 1, Walton 1.

The Press Player of the Month for January standings: Whittle 4, Letheren 3, Parkin 1.

Goals: Brodie 7, Connolly 3, Heslop 3, Fry 2, Klukowski 2, Own Goal 2, Fenwick 1, Galbraith 1, Kamdjo 1, Murphy 1, Nti 1, Parkin 1, Racine 1, Rzonca 1, Wright 1.

Assists: Connolly 6, Rooney 4, Felix 2, Galbraith 2, Klukowski 2, Whittle 2, Wright 2, Cooper 1, Fry 1, Heslop 1, Higgins 1, Holmes 1, Murphy 1, Newton 1, Parkin 1.

Bad boys: Brodie nine yellow cards; Rooney eight yellow; Heslop one red, four yellow; Higgins five yellow; Fry four yellow; Nti one red, two yellow; Fenwick, Whittle, Wright all three yellow; Connolly, Kamdjo, Klukowski, Newton all two yellow; Moke one red; Clappison, Dixon, Galbraith, Johnson, Letheren, McDaid, Parkin, Murphy, Racine, Thompson all one yellow.