YORK City manager Gary Mills hailed the club’s first-ever “Y Factor” talent contest a success this week and believes the initiative should become an annual event.

Launched to give under-16 footballers who are playing for their local clubs the chance to earn a scholarship at Bootham Crescent, Mills admitted he had spotted nine players with the potential to become apprentices after watching a series of trial matches.

The City boss will now run the rule over them again at close quarters, alongside youth team coach Steve Torpey, before deciding whether any of them will be taken on by the club next season.

An enthusiastic Mills told The Press: “We have invited nine players back and there were certainly some good lads who we will have a final look at and make decisions from there. We are close to making a decision on one of them already because I really rated the lad.

“Some weren’t up to it but you will always get that so some will be disappointed but some will be elated about getting called back and, overall, I was impressed by the standard of some of them. We will bring nine of them back in for a few days’ training and play another game then decide who we will give scholarships to. “The nice thing is that until a couple of weeks ago they were playing for their local sides and did not dream that a door like this would open up for them.”

For as long as he is in charge at Bootham Crescent, Mills intends to repeat the exercise every year and added: “I’d like that because some kids develop later, say at 15, than others who have been in the Centre of Excellence maybe since the age of 12.

“Some players get disregarded and, even if we get just one little gem through doing this, we will have achieved our objective and it will have been worthwhile.

“We are not always able to go out and watch games so we are relying on recommendations from local managers a lot of the time and it’s good to forge links with them too.”

The next two months will also be a crucial time for City’s current under-18 scholars with decisions being made on the second-year apprentices’ future.

Just two players from the 2009/10 Football League Youth Alliance North East Conference runners-up side – Dean Lisles and Jamie Hopcutt – were retained last summer only for Mills to release them shortly after his arrival at the club in mid-October.

But the City boss has since signalled his commitment to youth development and revealed that he has spotted professional potential in this season’s crop.

He said: “There are two or three in there that we feel could become good players. The next step is they have got to grow up, become men and learn how to win football matches.

“I’m not disregarding any of them and, with the help of Steve Torpey, I am identifying the ones that could develop well enough to get into the first-team squad.

“We will have more reserve games next season to help them bridge that gap and the lads and the York public have got to know the opportunity to make it as a professional is there because, if it’s not, you may as well forget about it rather than doing it for the sake of it.

“It might just be one we take this season, but two would be great and three even better, so we will have to see. You have to be sensible about it though because we are a Conference club working within a budget.”


Ingham takes a hold

GOALKEEPER Michael Ingham and captain Chris Smith were locked at the top of The Press Player of the Month contest going into this afternoon’s final fixture in February at Hayes and Yeading.

Neither player has won the award in the past with Ingham moving joint top after his man-of-the-match display during Tuesday night’s 0-0 draw at Altrincham.

That performance earned the former Northern Ireland ’keeper three points towards the standings and he also collected the two bonus points on offer to the player who polled the most men-of-the-match votes from visitors to our website.

The other points at Moss Lane went to Smith (two) and Peter Till (one) as our second and third-highest rated players respectively.

To be in with a chance of presenting the February Player of the month award, do not forget to send us your man-of-the-match votes for this afternoon’s game.

The Press Player of the Year standings: Parslow 26 points, McGurk 23, Meredith 19, Lawless 18, C Smith 17, Till 15, Rankine 14, Ingham 13, Gash 11, Young 8, Barrett 7, Chambers 7, Carruthers 6, Sangare 6, McDermott 5, Racchi 5, Reed 5, J Smith 5, Weir 4, Boucaud 3, Constantine 2, Darville 2, Fyfield 2.

The Press Player of the Month for February standings: Ingham 7, C Smith 7, Meredith 5, Reed 5, Darville 2, Parslow 2, Till 2, Barrett 1, Chambers 1.

Goals: Rankine 11, Constantine 6, Till 4, Chambers 3, Lawless 3, Reed 2, Barrett 2, Racchi 2, J Smith 2, Brodie 1, Fyfield 1, Gash 1, Mackin 1, McDermott 1, Meredith 1, Parslow 1, Sangare 1, C Smith 1, Young 1.

Assists: Rankine 10, Carruthers 4, Gash 4, Chambers 4, Lawless 3, Parslow 3, Fyfield 2, McGurk 2, C Smith 2, Till 2, Darville 2, Barrett 1, Brodie 1, Constantine 1, Meredith 1, J Smith 1, Weir 1, Carruthers 1.

Bad boys: J Smith two red cards, four yellow; McGurk one red, five yellow; Lawless six yellow; Rankine five yellow; Boucaud, C Smith, Young all three yellow; Brodie, Carruthers, Chambers, Gash, Meredith, Parslow, Racchi, Sangare all two yellow; Ingham one red; Barrett, Hatfield, Weir all one yellow.


Boost for youth team

YORK City’s youth team also enjoyed a boost last weekend when £250 was raised from donations and raffle ticket sales during last weekend’s game against Rotherham United at Bootham Crescent.

With the first team without a match, a healthy crowd of 250 cheered on the Minstermites to a 3-3 draw.