YORK City boss Russ Wilcox will look to bolster his striking options again having seen loan trio Deon Burton, Diego De Girolamo and Ryan Brunt return to their parent clubs.

Their departures leave the Minstermen with just three recognised, senior centre forwards in their ranks – Jake Hyde, Wes Fletcher and Ryan Jarvis.

Each of those players have all had fitness problems this season and Wilcox admitted that the time is right to begin the hunt for more reinforcements.

Sheffield United’s FA Cup replay with Crewe next week means any return to Bootham Crescent for De Girolamo now seems likely to be delayed, while Burton is expected to be ruled out for a prolonged period following his knee injury at the weekend.

“With those three strikers going back, it’s an area we need to look at,” Wilcox admitted. “I’m still hoping Diego will return but they’ve got a replay with Crewe now and, if they get through that which I would expect them to do, the second round isn’t too far away and they might want to keep him until then.

“That takes you past the end of November deadline for loan signings, so we will be having a little look around to see what’s available.”

Wilcox added that he felt a potential FA Cup second round trip to Sky Bet League Two high-fliers Wycombe, if his team can win at AFC Wimbledon next Tuesday, represented a tough draw but still offered a good chance of progress in the competition.

He said: “First and foremost, it’s difficult to think about Wycombe away in the second round because we’ve got to get past AFC Wimbledon first. But Wycombe are riding high and I played with their manager Gareth Ainsworth at Preston, so I know what he’s about.

“He’s done a great job there and he has shown that if you stick with people in football you get your rewards. They had a torrid time last season and only just survived relegation into the Conference.

“But they stood by him and, with a couple of key signings like Paul Hayes, he has shown how quickly things can change. They are near the top now, so it would be a tough game but we wouldn’t be going to a League One or Championship side and we don’t fear anybody in our division.

“There was a tinge of disappointment when our name came out when it did, but you have to embrace whatever you get and deal with it.”

Victory against Wimbledon would mean the Minnstermen would also face four consecutive away fixtures with trips to Hartlepool and Plymouth sandwiched in between the Cup contests.

On that prospect, the City chief said: “That would be really tough if we get through because three of the matches would be based down south, but our away form has been good, so we would approach all the games positively.”

Wilcox attended a Fit to Perform session, meanwhile, today at St George’s Park, which is aimed at giving managers a full health MOT.

Funded by the League Managers’ Association, it checks the heart, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, amongst other things, with Wilcox welcoming the check-up.

“It took four-and-a-half hours, so it was very good and thorough,” Wilcox revealed. “I am 50 now, so it’s time for me to think about these things and make sure I’m in good shape because being a manager is very different to being a coach.”