YORK City manager Nigel Worthington has told his summer signings it is time to deliver ahead of tomorrow's home match with Southend.

The Minstermen chief believes all eight close-season recruits should now have bedded in at Bootham Crescent and wants them to repay the faith he showed by bringing them to the club.

Four of the new faces - Jake Hyde, Anthony Straker, Dave Winfield and Jason Mooney - were on the bench for Tuesday night's 0-0 home draw with Luton.

Worthington has also called for better performances on the flank from Lindon Meikle, although full-backs Marvin McCoy and Femi Ilesanmi have been ever-presents so far this term and midfielder Luke Summerfield has started the last seven matches.

On his expectations of the eight players, Worthington said: "I think the settling-in period and time needed to gel together is out of the way now.

"We had our bonding sessions in pre-season and have got a number of league games behind us, so it's about making sure the team functions well and individuals play their part within the team."

Having been replaced on the wing by midfielder Tom Platt against Luton, Straker could be in line for a recall against the side he left for the Minstermen in June.

The former Shrimper started the campaign promisingly in City colours but Worthington reckons he has lost a little belief, adding: "I think it's to do with confidence and, sometimes, it's down to clearing your mind, getting back to basics and doing what you're good at.

"I never ask players to do anything they're not capable of doing, but what they can do, they have to do to their maximum."

Another option for Worthington against the Essex visitors could be to move centre-forward Michael Coulson back on to the wing.

It is a switch he has resisted, so far, but he reasoned: "Couls is very happy through the middle and he does well up there but, if there's a scenario where we have to move him out wide for the team's sake, we will look at it and nobody would be more open than him to perform wherever he's asked to."

Worthington, meanwhile, has been forced to put his squad-strengthening bid on hold following discussions with two loan targets.

"We've been chasing a couple of players and I thought we might have got at least one in," he revealed.

"But the other club has got a few injuries, so we will have to hang fire and it's another opportunity for players in the team to show what they are capable of doing because we need more from up front and the wide areas at the moment. You always need goals and a supply and we've got to try and enhance that."

The City boss has also challenged his players to respond in the correct manner to his stern post-match assessment following the Luton game when he slammed the team's "diabolical" decision making.

"What was said wasn't said in frustration, it was just passion," he explained. "It's up to the players how they react and we will see against Southend.

"We need to get back to taking responsibility for receiving and passing the ball. There's nothing majorly wrong.

"We've only lost one of our last 25 league matches, but the performance levels have dropped off in the last two games and, sometimes, you have to put a clear marker down. That might have been critical but people have to live with that and get on with it."

Worthington went on to insist that he is unlikely to dispense with his favoured 4-4-2 formation, as he aims to improve on a record of three goals from five home fixtures this term.

"You've got to play the system that suits your players," he pointed out. "I'm not sure whether we have the players for 4-3-3 or 4-5-1.

"We've played against all sorts of permutations whilst I've been here but I like 4-4-2 and the players have dealt with it very well. They are comfortable with it and you can't just say to them we are changing system.

"You need practice and everybody needs to know their role in the system."

Long-term casualty Josh Carson remains the only absentee for the Shrimpers clash with Worthington suggesting that reports Michael Ingham has played the last two matches with a finger injury had been exaggerated.

"His finger went into spasm after catching the end of it with a shot during the warm-up at Burton but it settled down quickly and nothing has hindered him in the last two games," the City boss added. "It's very rare any player doesn't go from one game to the next without a bump or a knock."

Elsewhere, long-serving centre-back Dan Parslow has joined Conference club Grimsby in a one-month loan deal with Worthington saying: "It will be good for him to get some game time under his belt. We will then reassess things after a month and see where he's at, where Grimsby are at and where we are at."