YORK City boss Nigel Worthington hailed a sixth successive shut-out following a 0-0 home draw with Burton.

The Minstermen failed to equal a club record of seven successive league wins at Football League level by beating the Brewers but are now closing in on another entry in the Bootham Crescent history books.

Eight consecutive clean sheets, set in 1984/85, represents the club’s longest-ever sequence and the Minstermen will match that tally should they keep Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Rochdale and Lancashire neighbours Accrington Stanley at bay during their next two contests.

A pleased Worthington said: “Clean sheets give you a foundation for moving forward and getting good results so it’s important we keep getting them because we know we are capable of scoring goals. We would have loved three points against Burton and set our stall out to get them by starting with Ryan Brobbel out there.

“But you have to give credit to Burton. There were a couple of half-chances but they didn’t want to give anything away and neither did we.”

City slipped back out of the play-off places on goal difference due to Southend’s 1-0 triumph against Torquay but Worthington is happy with his team’s form going into the final month of the regular season, having also now drawn level on points with Oxford.

The Minstermen chief added: “The work-rate from the players has been phenomenal and we’ve just got to keep that going over the next six games and see where that takes us. I was delighted with a point from a very good, honest League Two game.

“Burton were up there last season and have been all this season so, to compete how we did against them, puts down a little marker for ourselves in terms of how far we have come in a short space of time.”

Brobbel was given his second full debut for the Minstermen having been recruited on loan from Middlesbrough again after spending four months at Bootham Crescent earlier this season before returning to the Riverside during the January transfer window.

The Northern Ireland under-21 international was brought back by Worthington following the loss of Josh Carson, who could be sidelined for up to nine months after hospital scans confirmed cruciate ligament damage in his injured knee.

On the sight of Brobbel back in a City shirt, Worthington said: “He’s in good physical shape, which I am pleased about. He knows what he has to do to stay in the team and I thought he did it in good style.

“He worked hard defensively and looked a threat moving forward as well. He is a nice addition now we have lost Josh to injury.”

Worthington was also pleased with new striker Cavin Andrew’s display as a replacement for Ryan Bowman just past the hour mark.

“He is a real handful and has looked bright in training,” the Minstermen chief revealed. “He’s another good addition and, with his height and strength, he can bring other people into the game.”

With a weekend trip to league leaders Rochdale presenting the next challenge for a City side now unbeaten in 11 games, Worthington said: “We had a good tussle with them at our place when it ended 0-0 and we will need to go there with the same resilience we showed against Burton because they are flying high and are my favourites to win the league but, hopefully, without three points from their next game.”