HEAD coach James Ford cannot describe the difference in vibe at a resurgent York City Knights since the troubled end to last season.

Ford's new-look team begin their 2017 season tomorrow with a home League One Cup first round tie against North Wales Crusaders at Bootham Crescent (3pm).

Late last year it seemed like it would not happen, after a promising 2016 campaign ended in farce and the likelihood of the club closing. But the takeover by the consortium headed up by Jon Flatman not only saved the club but has signalled a new dawn, and Ford says the change in atmosphere around the place is palpable.

"I don't know if I've got the words to describe the difference," said the 34-year-old when asked to compare the atmosphere in the camp now to last September.

"With the vibe I'm getting there's a strong feeling of hunger and togetherness and a will to prove people wrong.

"Every time we come in I'm impressed by the desire to move this club forward. Those are the kind of people you want to work with and, as a collective, we can travel some distance this year."

The team, put together at haste once the new owners got the go-ahead in December and the club was reinstated in the fixture list, are not among the pundits' favourites for honours in League One.

But Ford, entering his third season as boss, is hopeful the supporters can be the proverbial 18th man, not only helping in the new owners' quest for Championship rugby "within three years" but also enjoying an "amazing journey" alongside the team.

With many fans divided last year - some backing previous owner John Guildford and some against him - Ford has hailed a new togetherness off the field as well as on it.

"I hope so," he said, when asked if the fans could make a difference

"We've got a young, exciting team with some really exciting prospects.

"This could be an amazing journey, coming from where we've come from - when it was touch and go whether we'd have a team at all - to having a team with such potential.

"It's exciting and if I was a fan I wouldn't want to miss out on it.

"When they give us that noise, that backing, it certainly raises the standards of our performance."

He added of the togetherness: "It's something I've always tried to work towards.

"Jon Flatman and Mark Campbell (chief backer) have done a wonderful job in uniting the support.

"There's an air of excitement around the club. There's lots of positivity on social media and, reading the article in The Press of what Jon said, it comes across really positive and really professional.

"I feel really lucky to be in this organisation at this time and I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing the supporters getting behind these boys."

The squad that kicks off this season are less experienced than that which started 2016.

Asked to compare the two, Ford said: "I can only compare how they've come through pre-season and what I will say about this bunch is their attitude has been excellent. Their appetite for work, their appetite for learning, is probably the highest I've had out of any group.

"I'm really excited by that and by how far we can take this group forward as long as that attitude remains."

On aims for the year, he said: "I've had a chat with Jon and Mark (chief backer Mark Campbell) about where we feel we need to be. For the time being, that will stay between us three.

"Probably after these next two games we will sit down as a group and set targets for the league season.

"Those targets will be set very much by the players themselves - they're the blokes going out on the field.

"That's how I believe it should be, giving the group ownership of where they're going and what they're aiming for. There's no point me setting them targets if they're not going to buy into it.

"We give the blokes a lot of choices about how we play and what we do to fix up performances, and I'm really impressed at some of the stuff they come up with."