YORK City’s new manager Russ Wilcox has revealed his inherited players will get another opportunity to impress at Morecambe before he decides whether to enter the loan market.

Wilcox’s reign got off to a losing start with James Collins scoring on 86 minutes to earn Shrewsbury a 1-0 away win after Ryan Jarvis was sent off for the Minstermen just past the hour.

But City will return straight to action with a midweek trip to Morecambe on Tuesday and Wilcox will not be making any new recruits prior to the Globe Arena clash.

He said: “Hopefully, the chairman and board will make money available for players if needed but we will be looking at the squad here first and nothing will be done before we go to Morecambe. We might also go and win 3-0 there so, if and when we do look to bring people in, will depend on results and performances.”

After seeing his new charges fail to score for the fourth time in five home matches, however, Wilcox reiterated his desire to provide more entertainment for the Bootham Crescent faithful and admitted that might require fresh faces.

He added: “Our two central-midfield players worked tirelessly and Lewis Montrose did well on the ball. It’s important to pass the ball because I think League Two has changed.

“A lot of teams get the ball on the floor like Shrewsbury. I know there is quality in this group but it’s impossible to change mindsets in a few days.

“It might take time and a couple of new players. You have to try and keep supporters happy because they pay good money and we’ve got to entertain more.

“It’s been a tough, tough opening 13 games for York City but, if everybody sticks together, we can turn it round and we will also need to mix things up and be good in both boxes.”

Commenting on the team’s general performance in his opening match, Wilcox was encouraged by the attacking play of Femi Ilesanmi and Michael Coulson down the left flank but felt the players needed to improve their movement up the pitch as units.

“It’s definitely a work in progress,” he confessed. “There were some good bits, some indifferent bits and some bits we can work on.

“I thought we did well going forward on the left side and put some terrific balls into the box but the sending off changed the game. We had to sit behind the ball then and, to give the lads credit, they were resolute and stuck together against a good Shrewsbury team who I think will finish in the top seven.

“It was disappointing to concede a late goal but things haven’t been going well, not just on Saturday and we’ve just got to keep looking for that spark the club found last season in January and we will be doing that at the training ground.”

Jarvis will be suspended for the Morecambe match after his badly-timed challenge on Nathaniel Knight-Percival ten yards into the visitors’ half saw him receive a straight red card.

It was a decision Wilcox accepted, reasoning: “It maybe warranted a yellow but I can understand why he gave a red. I didn’t think there was any malice, but it was clumsy and going down to ten men made life difficult.”

The City chief was unhappy, however, with the manner of Collins’ winning goal with Keith Lowe only able to clear Mickey Demetriou’s free kick as far as Jordan Clark on the edge of the penalty box and his shot was then guided past Ingham from four yards by the unmaked Shrewsbury striker.

“I was disappointed to concede from the second phase following a free kick because I thought we should have been given a free kick before we committed a foul,” Wilcox explained. “You never want to allow a team a free entry into your box even though it was a good bit of play by Collins for the goal.

“We need to work on our movement up the pitch as units though and condense the space between our midfield and the back four, otherwise the midfield are going to get very tired. We also dropped too deep at times and need to allow Michael Ingham a bit more space to work in, then maybe he won’t need to make the saves he did on Saturday.

“It’s difficult to implement things on the training ground in a couple of days. We will debrief as a group today having watched the DVD before moving on to preparing for Morecambe.”

A “Welcome Wilcox” banner was unfurled as the former Scunthorpe boss took charge at Bootham Crescent for the first time and he appreciated the reception he was afforded, quipping: “I never saw the banner. It must have been my wife but the support is there for all to see.

“I know the fans always get behind the team here from being in the opposition dugout and it’s up to us, as a group, to give them a bit more to shout about.”

Wilcox is now hoping Wes Fletcher, who he worked with as an assistant manager at Burnley, will have recovered from a hamstring problem to feature at Morecambe.

On the three-goal top scorer’s possible return, he said: “We are hoping he will be available and that will be a bonus because I know all about him and we missed that bit of pace in behind which he gives you. He’s an option if we are going to play Ryan Brunt as a big target man.”

Centre-back Dave Winfield (thigh) is expected to be sidelined for at least another fortnight, however, meaning a recall from his loan spell at Grimsby now looks more likely for Dan Parslow.

His one-month stay with the Mariners is due to expire on Saturday, instead of early this week as originally indicated, and Wilcox reveaIed: “I need to speak to (Grimsby manager) Paul Hurst about that situation but I believe his loan isn’t up until after the Mansfield game.

“Grimsby will be playing in the FA Cup that day and we won’t be allowing him to play in that, so it’s a possibility we will be bringing him back into the building.”

Despite fielding his predecessor Nigel Worthington’s favoured 4-4-2 formation against Sherwsbury, Wilcox also expressed a willingness to consider alternative systems during his tenure.

“It’s difficult to say so soon whether this squad is suited to 4-4-2 but, sometimes, you do have to be adaptable and flexible,” he explained. “I am working with a different group of players to what I had last season, so it will be a matter of horses for courses.”

Wilcox added his thanks for the board’s sanctioning of a hotel stay the night before facing Morecambe.

“We will be staying overnight and not many teams in League Two would be able to do that, so our preparations will be spot on,” he added.