KEITH LOWE has stressed the importance of discipline as York City prepare to tackle the team bottom of Sky Bet League Two’s fair play table.

This afternoon’s hosts Southend have received four red cards in their last five games and Lowe is fully aware of the importance of avoiding sending offs at Roots Hall.

On five previous visits, Lowe has only suffered defeat at the Essex stadium when his team have been reduced to ten men.

Last season, he was a member of the City side that lost 2-1 to the Shrimpers following Ryan Bowman’s dismissal and he was also on the receiving end of a 4-0 thrashing with Cheltenham in 2012 after Sido Jombati’s dismissal.

Otherwise, he has enjoyed two wins and a draw at the coastal venue and has called on his team-mates to avoid all trouble today, saying: “We’ve had a couple sent off ourselves recently and it’s important to have 11 players on the pitch all the time.

“If you do that, the games in this league are so tight and you always have a chance of winning.”

For a 29-year-old centre-back with 356 professional outings under his belt, Lowe’s own disciplinary record is exemplary.

He has only been booked once this term and, disregarding last season when he was cautioned an uncharacteristic eight times, he has had his name taken on only four other occasions during his 11-year career.

On the reason for that record, he explained: “I tend to read the game more than going in for tackles. That’s my style of play and that’s the way I am.

“I don’t go into tackles that I don’t think I can win, unless there’s a need. I’ve never had a red card in my career or enough yellows for a suspension so I am hoping that can carry on, touch wood.”

Lowe will be returning to the ground where he made his City debut in November 2013 this afternoon.

Despite that game ending in a defeat that kept the visitors in the doldrums at the time, Lowe insists he saw enough during that contest to suggest the team could prosper at this level.

Recalling that encounter, he added: “I had only got to know the lads a couple of days earlier and I roomed with Pars (Dan Parslow) because we were playing alongside each other.

“Little did I know that ten minutes in he would get injured and we haven’t played together since.

“Bowey also got sent off but it was a good game and we didn’t deserve to lose. I enjoyed it and knew from then that we had a squad good enough to do well in this league.”

Remarkably, that match signalled a run of 59 consecutive league appearances for City that will be extended further at Southend.

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The former QPR and Wolves defender is delighted by that statistic having stopped becoming a permanent fixture at his previous club.

He admitted: “The only reason I left Cheltenham in the first place was to come to a club like this and play every game. I’m really proud of that run and, hopefully, I can keep it going.”

Lowe is also feeling none of the physical and mental fatigue City boss Russ Wilcox believes might have contributed to Femi Ilesanmi’s recent dip in form with the left-back an ever-present this term prior to being replaced in the first XI by new loan signing Malvind Benning at the weekend.

“I still feel as fresh as I did during that first Southend game,” the Wolverhampton–born centre-back insisted. “I’m feeling fine, everything is okay and I don’t want to miss a minute.”

From last weekend’s starting line-up, Lowe and Josh Carson are the only surviving members from the City team that kicked off the last visit to Southend just 14 months ago with Lowe admitting: “That does surprise me and it doesn’t.

“In League Two, you get a massive turnaround of players every season. It’s tough to keep getting contract after contract because managers change and things like that, so it’s nice to know I’ve played every game since my debut.”

Both Lowe and fellow centre-half John McCombe are not taking their places for granted, however, with on-loan Bournemouth defender Stephane Zubar serving the final game of his four-match suspension this weekend.

“I’ve been on my toes ever since I came and I don’t want to be in a position where I’m not in the team any more,” Lowe said. “Being in the side every week is what drives me on to do my best.”

Lowe also feels that new full-back Benning and fellow loan recruit Bobby Olejnik in goal are both contributing to the side’s defensive efforts.

“Bobby’s done brilliantly,” last season’s The Press Player of the Year pointed out. “He kept us in the game at Wycombe for a long time and he seems to have slotted in really well.

“He’s clear in what he does and his decision making is good, so I’m really enjoying playing in front of him. Malvind also had a good debut against Burton and was steady away.

“He’s good on the ball and likes to put in a decent cross. Hopefully, we can benefit from that by getting a few good goals.”