SIMON Heslop wants to erase the memory of York City ruining his best chance of playing at Wembley by guiding his home-town team to the FA Trophy final.

The former Huntington School pupil was a member of the Luton Town team that was beaten over two legs by the Minstermen during the 2010 Conference play-off semi-finals.

Heslop was 22 at the time, but it remains the nearest he has come to playing on the hallowed turf that City trod four times in three years during their last spell in non-League football’s highest echelon.

The Minstermen went on to lose that final to Oxford – Heslop’s next club – but the midfield enforcer has the realisation of a footballing ambition in his mind ahead of this weekend’s last-16 Trophy trip to National League North Nuneaton.

He said: “I’ve never played at Wembley and it’s a really big aim for me. It’s something I definitely want to do before the end of my career and not just play there, but win there.

“The nearest I came was when I was on loan at Luton from Barnsley and York knocked us out of the play-offs, which was really hard to take, because it’s the double blow of missing out on Wembley as well. It wasn’t to be that time but, hopefully, the Trophy can give our fans something to cheer about, because staying up and winning it would be a good end to our season now.”

Should City reach the Sunday, May 21 showpiece, skipper Heslop would be expected to lead the side out and, if successful, lift the trophy, but he added: “I’ve not really thought about that and it’s still a little bit further down the line.

“We’ve got a tough game at Nuneaton, who beat Guiseley 6-1 in the last round but, if we get through that, then there’s only a couple more ties before you’re at Wembley, so it is in the back of our mind, although we have got to focus on staying in the league first and foremost.”

City remain bottom of the National League standings but, with just one defeat from their last eight matches following the 0-0 draw at promotion-hopefuls Aldershot, Heslop reckons confidence is growing all the time at Bootham Crescent.

“We might have taken a point before the game at Aldershot, but we had the majority of chances to win the game, without going gung-ho and leaving ourselves open, so we were a bit disappointed not to take all three,” he reasoned. “We’ve had a settled team for the last three or four games with only the odd change here or there, so I think the gaffer is relatively pleased with the squad he’s put together and we feel like we’re going into games believing we’re going to win and that’s how it has to be.”

Having previously shared a dressing room with recalled striker Vadaine Oliver when he was Mansfield’s seven-goal joint-top scorer during the 2014/15 season, Heslop was also impressed with his former Field Mill team-mate’s return to the Minstermen’s starting line-up in Hampshire, saying: “I thought he did really well.

“I can only comment on what I have seen from him. I was with him when he was on loan at Mansfield and he had a really good spell there and he’s come back into the team and been a real handful. We’ve got to make sure that’s every week from him now.”

Heslop, meanwhile, switched back into a right-sided role against the Shots and, on his tactical flexibility, the former Wrexham midfielder added: “If I’m honest, I think my best position is in the middle of midfield but, if the gaffer wants me to play wing-back, I will do whatever is best for the team.”