City desperately in need of central bark

11:06am Tuesday 29th April 2008

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IF I was York City manager Colin Walker scouring the transfer market this close season, the first thing I would be looking for is a commanding defender.

I think they need a proper leader - he doesn't have to be massive or extremely quick but they need someone in there who can organise and lead them.

What York have done this season is give goals away without the opposition having to really do anything. That's always going to make it an uphill battle.

When teams have scored against York they have seemed to do so very easily. They've not been beautifully-worked goals. Often, they've worked really hard and you just can't go and give a goal away.

That's the biggest thing for me. I think there's enough at the club going forward to suggest they will score goals. It is just a matter of consistency.

Colin Walker has proved he should be given a chance to build his own side. He's a mild-mannered man and he has done things very differently from Billy McEwan.

City had an abysmal start to the season and it was always going to be really difficult to catch up - but they went 14 games unbeaten, which was an absolutely phenomenal run.

It is a mental thing and you do get into the habit of winning. They started doing very well in the cups and I think, in the players' mindset, they could see they were never going to make the play-offs.

So when Torquay dumped them out of the FA Trophy semi-final, it looked to me like all the spirit went out of them. And if you play without any spirit you don't win games of football.

The season has been disappointing but what happens in football is that you end up playing to the level you are at. When Football League clubs go out there is a golden window when you can get back and that is the first or second season.

If you don't achieve that, what happens is you slowly get turnover of staff and after two, three or four years you are getting the personnel at the club for the league you are in.

I played at a lot of clubs and York was one of the few places where the fans never really had a grumble. I've detected there is a bit of flak out there.

But you can't win every week and people have to realise it is a difficult situation.

Money makes a massive difference. When I was at Hartlepool there was no money and they were really struggling to pay the debts off. I was chasing the best free transfers but I couldn't pay the wages so you were gambling on people who you thought could do a job. Then an oil company came in and invested.

Before then, it was a really difficult scenario. York have a fantastic tradition in the Football League but no club has a divine right to anything.

A good start next year is crucial. That would give the whole place a lift and get the crowds in.

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What do you think is York City's number one priority?