CONNOR Smith is ready to fill the York City right-wing back void – if needed.

The 20-year-old attacker was always used in an advanced attacking role on the flank with former club Hartlepool, but gained experience in the more defensive role during a loan stint at Evo-Stik Northern Premier League outfit Whitby Town last term.

Having off-loaded Shaun Rooney and missed out of retaining the services of Danny Holmes this summer, City will be looking for somebody to fulfil wing-back duties on the right should skipper Simon Heslop be restored to his favoured central-midfield role and manager Gary Mills wants to employ the 3-4-3 formation he regularly fielded last term.

On his suitability for the role, Smith said: “I played right-wing back at Whitby and did really well there. I still need to work on the defensive side of my game because I’d never played there before, but it was a position I enjoyed and I won a few man-of-the-match awards playing there, so I’d be happy to do it again if needed.”

Smith added that his six-game, one-month loan spell with Whitby also offered him the opportunity to hold down a first-team starting place, having been restricted to just 19 outings at Hartlepool despite making his professional debut as a 17-year-old back in 2013.

Stringing together a consistent run of games at Bootham Crescent in National League North is now his intention and he feels ready for that challenge following his spell on the coast.

“Whitby was a good chance for me to play regularly for the first time in a while and I played my best football for a long time, playing every Saturday and Tuesday,” he reasoned. “Lee Bullock, who used to play for York and is the assistant-manager at Whitby now, was great for me.

“He liked me and helped me quite a lot. It was a good taste of a different type of football but, whilst it’s probably more physical than League Two and played at a quick pace, teams did play a bit as well and there are some better football sides in non-League football than people might think, which I think will be the case again next season.”

Despite being on the books of a Football League outfit since the age of 12, albeit one that has now lost that status following last term’s relegation, Smith also has no qualms plying his trade in the sixth tier of the English game, citing City’s continued professional existence as a major attraction.

“It’s still full-time football and that’s the big thing,” he pointed out. “I’ve got no issue with dropping down to try and play and I’m here to do the best I can to help the team.

“I just want to play and get as many goals and assists as I possibly can whilst, as a club, we need to be looking to get out of the division at the first time of asking.”

Smith is looking forward, meanwhile, to supplying the likes of towering strikers Jon Parkin and Michael Rankine with the chances to fire City into those upper reaches of the table.

“I try and always be positive by using my speed and getting crosses into the box for the strikers,” he revealed. “It will be good to have two targets like them to aim for and I’ll be working out what runs they make and what deliveries they want when we start training.”

Smith’s first chance to impress in a City shirt will come a week on Saturday, as the pre-season programme kicks off with a trip to newly-promoted Evo-Stik Northern Premier League side Farsley Celtic.

Kick-off is 3pm with admission £7 for adults and £4 for concessions, including over-65s and students with valid ID.

The Minstermen’s other confirmed friendlies are Wednesday, July 12 v Scunthorpe (home, 7pm); Tuesday, July 18 v Blackburn Rovers (home, 7.30pm); Saturday, July 22 v Grantham Town (away, 3pm); Saturday, July 29 v Notts County (home, 3pm).