YORK City Knights will have no more friendlies before kicking off competitive fixtures - but assistant-boss Mark Applegarth is not too concerned about possible rustiness.

The Knights had pre-season outings against Super League side Hull and Championship big-guns Featherstone in January - both heavy defeats - while a scheduled match against a Castleford XIII was cancelled without being rearranged as hoped.

It means a five-week gap between the team’s last run-out and their season-opening League Cup first-round tie at London Skolars on March 1.

But Applegarth, who has returned to the club after spells in Australia and with Batley in the Championship, said: “I’m not too worried, just looking forward to getting into action.

“Skolars is the next game. We will hopefully play a full game, 13 against 13, in training, and put a few scenarios to players and see how they respond.

“The friendlies were a certain block of training.

“This block we’re now in is focusing on conditioning and by the time the Skolars game comes around the guys should be a lot fitter and able to put things into place for the start of the season.”

The play-offs will again be all-important in League One this year - with two promotion places both being decided by one-off finals - and the suggestion is the Knights will use ties in both the League Cup and Challenge Cup next month as warm-up fixtures for the league campaign which starts in April.

That was a ploy used successfully in the past by Sheffield Eagles, who used the then season-opening Northern Rail Cup group section primarily to get ready for the Championship - going on to reach three successive grand finals come the autumn.

But Applegarth insists the Knights will still “go for glory” in the League Cup and aim for progression to a money-spinning tie in the Challenge Cup too.

Applegarth said of the former: “It’s a cup and we’re going to go into it wanting to win it. You always want to come out glorious.

“We’ll train through it as well – the big thing is to be ready for the league. We’re wanting to go for promotion so that’s the main aim, but if we can win a cup along the way, who would say no?"