MAKESHIFT wing-back Stephane Zubar was praised for his performance during York City’s 0-0 draw at Oxford despite being described as a "square peg in a round hole".

Zubar was pressed into the unfamiliar role with Russ Wilcox opting to play Michael Coulson further forward in a 3-4-3 formation.

An unexpected knee injury to Femi Ilesanmi and Josh Carson’s continued absence due to severe concussion saw Wilcox turn to Zubar at the Kassam Stadium and the City chief was delighted with the Guadeloupe international’s response.

Wilcox said: “We had a square peg in a round hole at wing-back, but Stephane did a great job slotting in there. He defended the back post well when the ball was on the other side of the pitch and I thought he was great slotting in there.

“It was very interesting watching him try to cross the ball in with his left foot at times and I almost had a chuckle to myself wondering whether I’d done the right thing but it says ‘defender’ on his contract and that’s what he was.

“Femi would have probably played there but he tweaked his knee a little bit doing work on his own in the gym on Saturday. There was no way I was going to risk him but we are hoping he will be available again for the weekend.

“Josh is no nearer yet. He’s been back in the building with the lads at training but he will be seeing a specialist to make sure everything is right because he needs to get the all clear before he comes back to play.”

City moved six points clear of the Football League drop zone with all their nearest rivals losing and Wilcox felt the outcome at Oxford was a fair one, adding: “It was rewarding to get a point and a clean sheet away from home against a good side with a good squad.

“We were not great on the ball in the first half but we were the better side after the break. We got on the front foot and looked like we were going to score.

“We were always a threat from set-pieces and Dave Winfield was unlucky not to get another goal. They had a decent chance when the lad shot wide, so we got away with that, but neither keeper had much to do, so a point apiece was a fair result.

“We’ve gone four games unbeaten now, which is always good for the group’s mentality. The results also went our way so we are another point nearer where we want to be.”

City had won their previous two matches employing a 3-4-1-2 formation but Wilcox switched tactics to counter the hosts’ threat from wide areas and, commenting on his team’s reaction to that change, the ex-Scunthorpe chief reasoned: “We were probably better without the ball than with it, certainly in the first half, but we got to grips with the formation a bit more in the second half.

“We hadn’t had a lot of time to work on it but I wanted to stop their full backs from running the game. Shaq Coulthirst was disappointed after the game because he felt things didn’t come off for him but I was really pleased with his performance.

“He dealt well with a different side to the game and put in a shift for the club down the flanks.”

Wilcox went on to express his pleasure at keeping a second successive clean sheet, saying: “They had a lot of the ball but we kept a good shape and I’m happy to sit deep with that back five.

“We had four centre backs on the pitch and, every time the ball came into our box, I was confident we would clear it.”

Michael Ingham, meanwhile, got the nod in goal despite on-loan Peterborough shot-stopper Bobby Olejnik’s return from suspension.

On that decision, Wilcox explained: “Michael’s done well. He took a few crosses and dealt with other situations too.

“I left him in there because I felt it was important to reward him with this opportunity. He’s had two clean sheets now and, if he keeps getting them, I won’t be pulling him out of the team.

“He’s very experienced and calm in situations like we are in at the moment and is playing a key role at the moment.”