YORK City’s new first-team coach Richard Cresswell is hoping to instil the same spirit that fought off relegation from the Football League when he was a player at the club two years ago.

Cresswell was brought in on loan from Sheffield United during March 2013 with the club floundering in the lower reaches under then manager Nigel Worthington.

He went on to score during a 2-0 Easter Monday victory over Plymouth - the club’s first win in 17 games - as the Minstermen picked up 13 points from a possible 15 from their last five fixtures to stay up on the final day of the campaign.

Fourth-bottom City now have nine games left to play and Cresswell is looking for the same response from the current group of players.

Cresswell, who had been working as head of football operations at Bootham Crescent, has been brought into the first-team fold by manager Russ Wilcox and, on the parallels to the situation 24 months ago, the ex-England under-21 international said: “It’s very similar.

“We had our backs to the wall then with seven games left and we had to dig in. We need that cohesive spirit again to get us through this because, if we don’t have that, we will struggle, but I am positive because I can feel it in training.

“The clock is ticking now and everyone knows we must all stand up and be counted.”

Cresswell, who plundered 142 goals as a professional at every level in the English game, is hoping to get a City side firing that has only managed to hit the target 12 times during 19 League Two home games this term.

He added: “We are looking for a cutting edge in the team and that needs to improve but it’s not just about the strikers. It’s about creating chances too, because it’s not as if we have missed bundles of opportunities.”

Cresswell, meanwhile, is hoping his appointment can prove the first step towards a career in first- team coaching and management, explaining: “Everybody wants to work their way up the ladder and it’s nice the gaffer has given me this opportunity to work with his squad.

“I will have my opinion because I’m quite opinionated and always have been through my career. That’s just the way I am.

“I will work with the strikers along with Steve Torpey and try to get them firing on all cylinders.

I’ve had a lot of experience in the past at different levels from League Two to the Premier League and I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty.

“I’ve been working a lot with the academy but the gaffer has asked me if I can be another pair of hands and eyes. It’s a small club and we are all pulling in the same direction to get points on the board.

“That’s myself, the gaffer, Andy McMillan, Jonathan Greening and Steve Torpey. There’s nine games left and I am right behind the gaffer as the rest of the staff are.

“He’s an honest, hard-working guy. He had a fantastic season at Scunthorpe last year and he’s a fantastic manager who I am sure will get us out of the situation we are in at the moment.”

City fans’ frustrations boiled over at the end of Tuesday night’s 1-0 home defeat to Bury, with some supporters calling for chairman Jason McGill to relieve Wilcox of his duties and the players getting booed off the pitch.

York Press:

FLASHBACK: Richard Cresswell wheels away in celebration after scoring York City’s second goal against Plymouth Argyle at Bootham Crescent to kick-start their battle against relegation from League Two

Despite a record of just two wins from 21 fixtures at Bootham Crescent this season, however, Cresswell is hoping the Minstermen faithful can play their part in the survival battle with vital home matches against fellow strugglers Cheltenham and Hartlepool coming up.

“York supporters are fantastic and have a right to say what they think but everybody needs to stay positive because, if we all are, I am 100 per cent sure we will have enough to stay in the league,” Cresswell reasoned.

“Fans want to see a winning side, as do the players and staff and I don’t think fans booing the team helps at all. We need to really drive this team on.

“The gaffer is doing that, as are the staff, and the fans can be our 12th man, as I am sure they will be.”

Cresswell outlined, meanwhile, how important it is for the first team to complement the progress being made by the club off the pitch and the passion he still retains for his first club.

“York City is a massive part of my life,” he admitted. “The club gave me an opportunity to do what I did in the game and, when I came back as a player, we managed to stay in the League.

“My kids are York City fans and I live in the city and I know nobody wants to go into the Vanarama.

“We have got the new stadium on the horizon, so there are a lot of positive things happening at the club and results need to back up what’s going on off the pitch.”