LANRE Oyebanjo believes a packed schedule can benefit York City in the battle for National League survival.

Should the Minstermen progress to the FA Trophy semi-finals by beating Brackley a week tomorrow, a total of 18 fixtures will need to be crammed into the last 71 days of the season.

That translates to an average of one fixture every four days but, having been part of the 2011/12 squad, that lifted the Trophy and secured promotion via the play-offs, Oyebanjo reckons the potential fixture backlog will work in City’s favour.

“Playing lots of games gives you a rhythm in terms of putting a run together and people gel together much better,” he reasoned. “Making progress in the Trophy breeds positivity in the camp and I’ve got nothing but good memories about the competition.

“It gave me my biggest moment in the game when I scored at Wembley and I’d love to get the opportunity to do that again. The main priority is obviously the league, but I think the Trophy gives you a good opportunity to switch off from that as well.”

Oyebanjo also helped City stave off the threat of relegation from the Football League in 2013 when four wins and two draws were required during a tense run-in as the fight went to the very last day.

He is in no mood to fret, therefore, with 15 games left to play, adding: “It’s a long, old season and I’ve been in the game long enough to know nothing is won or lost in February.

“You have to keep fighting until that last game and I was here when we were in a more difficult position, but we got safe. It’s all about having a never-say-die attitude.

“If you give it your all until the end of every game, you get your just rewards. We’ve got a good, experienced squad and I feel the camp is a lot more positive than it was four years ago.

“We’ve got fighters who will put their bodies on the line and will run into brick walls for you.”

Oyebanjo was recruited by former City boss Jackie McNamara in the summer after being released by Crawley but admitted he is now relishing working under his old mentor again.

“I had my most successful times under the gaffer and I’ve got a lot to thank him for,” the ex-Histon defender pointed out. “We had an amazing nine days back in May 2012 and those memories are ingrained in me.

“He knows what triggers to pull with me and it’s good to have a manager who knows exactly what you can do. He’s a good man-manager like that, although I know there will be no freebies from him and I must warrant my place in a very competitive squad.”

Oyebanjo went on to corroborate the story of how he was coerced back on to the training field by Mills last month, despite feeling tentative after an injury-ravaged season, in which he had been restricted to four outings before his substitute appearance during last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Maidstone.

“When you’ve been out a long time, you want to make sure you’re right when you come back and you often get little niggles, which are easy to ignore when you’re playing week in, week out but, when you’re coming back from injury, you’re a bit more wary, because you want to be at your strongest,” Oyebanjo explained. “The gaffer had a chat with me though and that gave me the bit of confidence you sometimes need.

“It had been stop-start and I tried a lot of things and saw a lot of specialists. It was frustrating, because I couldn’t put an exact date on when I’d be ready to come back.

“My knee swelled up and then I had a hamstring problem and, at first, we tried injections, but they didn’t clear it up and that was another two or three weeks gone. But I had the operation to trim my cartilage and that cleared it up, so I’m happy, strong and positive now.

“I’m still a bit rusty, but I’ll get there the more training I have and games I play. I’m pleased the gaffer thought I was capable of being thrown in last week and it’s up to me to get a shirt again by continuing to work hard.”

The 26-year-old full back’s enforced absence, meanwhile, has seen his hunger for football intensify.

“Having time out makes you appreciate how much you love the game,” he said. “You want to be out there running around.

“It’s a dream job and, sometimes, you can forget that or take it for granted when you’re in a high-pressure environment week-in, week-out, but I love that match-day feeling.”