STEPHANE Zubar turned down transfer window moves elsewhere and paid a fine at York City to make amends for his red card against Plymouth.

The Bournemouth defender could have avoided the punishment, with his loan spell from the south-coast Championship outfit having lapsed following his dismissal for violent conduct.

But Zubar, who saw a loan move to Port Vale cut short earlier in the season after receiving his marching orders, felt a sense of loyalty to City boss Russ Wilcox, chairman Jason McGill and the club's supporters.

The Guadeloupe international is available for tomorrow's home match with Dagenham & Redbridge after serving his four-game ban and, on his duty to the Minstermen, he said: "I accepted and paid my fine here.

"I had the opportunity to go elsewhere but I wanted to be fair to the manager and chairman at York by staying here. My goal is to make sure I help keep the club in League Two.

"I didn't want my loan to end in a bad way like it did at Port Vale and I've still got 18 games to show exactly what I'm capable of. The manager worked with me at Bournemouth and he knows everyone makes a mistake.

"If I do it again, that would be really stupid, so I'm looking to do my best for the club and I hope the fans can forgive me for what I did."

Zubar was sent for an early shower after 20 minutes against the Pilgrims following a head-to-head confrontation with visiting defender Peter Hartley.

It is a "mistake" that he insists was out of character and one that he intends not to repeat.

On the flare-up, the 28-year-old centre back recalled: "Their player pushed me and put his forehead against mine and I reacted and did exactly the same thing, putting pressure on his head. Things like that can happen on the pitch.

"Cristiano Ronaldo got sent off for punching and kicking two players, but I can't blame anyone. I shouldn't have done it and I have to learn from my mistake.

"I don't have that kind of reputation as a player. I'm not like that and most people were surprised to see how I behaved."

The lack of a midweek fixture in January means tomorrow's match will represent five weeks since Zubar last tasted first-team action but he has no concerns over his conditioning, saying: "John (McCombe) and Keith (Lowe) have done really well (at centre-back) and we've got good competition for places.

"It's up to the boss who he plays and the only thing I can say is I'm fit and ready. I've been training really hard and I feel good.

"I've been doing extra sessions with the manager and played against Leeds in the friendly game. It was a good game and Leeds had a few good, young players but we kept a clean sheet, which was good.

"It's been a really long time waiting for the suspension to end, but I'm pleased it's over now and I can't wait to play again."

With the club now hovering above the relegation zone only on goal difference, Zubar has also reasoned that the Minstermen cannot keep citing ill fortune as a reason for their lowly position.

Ahead of the meeting with fellow strugglers Dagenham, Zubar added: "We've been unlucky during the last few games but that's been the story of our season and we just need to get points now. We know playing Dagenham won't be easy because everyone wants to win when they're in our situation.

"We've got some good quality players to help us move up the table but we've done enough talking and need to start getting results on the pitch, starting tomorrow."