YORK City chairman Jason McGill has revealed that Nigel Worthington was among a host of people who recommended Russ Wilcox to become his successor at Bootham Crescent.

The ex-Scunthorpe chief was the Minstermen’s number-one target with McGill admitting that references he received from within the football world strengthened his employment prospects even more.

He said: “I identified Russ as a potential candidate after speaking to people in the game whose opinion I respect, including Nigel. I phoned him and asked what he thought about Russ and he was very, very supportive - that’s the honest truth.

“When we spoke to Russ, it became clear that all the positive things people had told us were true and that he could bring the qualities we need to remedy our situation. He has fantastic coaching qualifications and is a very good man manager who is not afraid of hard work or getting his hands dirty.

“He knows what this division is about, as he showed at Scunthorpe, with that fantastic 28-game unbeaten run. He’s had a great apprenticeship as a number two as well at various different clubs and levels but it is also important that we are able to get on and work with a manager.

“That relationship between chairman and manager is vital for any football club at our level and we will be taking a joint approach to the identification of players and then going out to get them.”

Wilcox’s unveiling came just two days after Worthington’s resignation with McGill explaining he was keen to make a swift appointment as the Minstermen look to climb away from third-bottom in Sky Bet League Two during three games in eight days, starting with Saturday’s home match against Shrewsbury.

The Malton-based businessman added: “I think you have to act quickly. I don’t like turmoil and players waiting to see who is going to come in, especially in our position.”

McGill explained that he hopes Wilcox will build on the off-pitch legacy Worthington left in terms of training ground improvements and investment in non-playing staff.

On the short-term goals, he said: “We want to improve our performances, results and league position by cutting out the individual errors and getting more goals by taking our chances.

“We want to get to that safety mark of 52 to 55 points as soon as possible and then see what happens after that.”

On his efforts to change the mind of outgoing chief Worthington, meanwhile, McGill revealed: “I asked him to sleep on it overnight and reminded him of last season when we had much less time to turn things around.

“It was a total surprise and we never gave him any indication we were disheartened with what was happening. We were disappointed with results but Nigel just felt a new voice was needed in the dressing room and wanted to give them enough time to turn things around.

“I remember him telling me he wanted to do what was right for York City, our family and Nigel Worthington, so I can’t speak more highly of him for that.”

By resigning, McGill also confirmed that the club would not be duty bound to honour the former Northern Ireland chief’s contract and admitted: “That shows Nigel’s strength of character and dignity. It’s very unusual in the game for people to make that decision, rather than wait for you to make it.”