STEVE Torpey travelled to Newport yesterday knowing York City are better prepared for their trip to South Wales than they were during his one-match caretaker spell as manager back in 2010.

Three years and ten days have passed since Torpey, now Nigel Worthington’s assistant manager at Bootham Crescent, was given the unenviable task of motivating a group of dispirited, underperforming players following the swift departures of first Martin Foyle and then his temporary successor Andy Porter.

Torpey’s reign was always going to last just 90 minutes, with the former Scunthorpe and Bristol City striker immediately ruling himself out of the vacant post soon to be filled by Gary Mills.

Newport, meanwhile, were on a remarkable run of 33 home games without a defeat at the time, but the result and performance is still one that Torpey recalls with disappointment.

Of the 14 players on duty that afternoon for the Minstermen, Michael Ingham, David McGurk and Dan Parslow are all likely to play a part in today’s latest meeting with the Exiles.

Jamal Fyfield, who is unlikely to feature, was also given a start by Torpey that day but only Bradford City left-back James Meredith is now plying his trade at a higher level.

Otherwise, Leon Constantine has retired and four players are no longer making a living out of the game with Greg Young, Neil Barrett, Mark Beesley and David Dowson playing part-time football for Gainsborough, Basingstoke, Skelmersdale and Darlington 1883 respectively.

Alex Lawless and Michael Gash also remain entrenched in the Conference with Luton and Kidderminster and Danny Racchi is now at Valur in Iceland.

Since those City players flopped, today’s hosts have moved from Spytty Park to Rodney Parade and Torpey is convinced his latest visit to the Gwent town will be a happier one.

On the 2010 drubbing, he said: “It was a case of being thrown in at the deep end. We also had two or three injuries, including Michael Rankine and Djoumin Sangare.

“Newport were in exceptional form, especially at home, so it was always going to be a daunting place to go but I don’t think we deserved to lose 4-0. We had two or three good chances that we missed, as well as hitting a post, so it was disappointing in terms of my one and only experience of management but I feel we are much better prepared with this current squad.

“Back then, I had 48 hours to prepare for the game, which wasn’t ideal. A lot of the players’ mental states were not what they should have been either with two managers leaving in the space of a fortnight.

“Maybe that was a bit understandable but, this time, there will be no excuses and it will be a case of all guns blazing. A lot of things have changed in the three years since and we have a much better squad.”

Torpey was sent on a scouting mission last weekend to watch Justin Edinburgh’s Newport team in action at Rochdale.

The visitors were emphatically defeated 3-0 but Torpey does not want City’s players to be fooled by that result.

County have won seven and drawn one of their last nine home games and the City coach added: “I thought Rochdale were exceptional in the way they passed the ball and their movement in that match.

“They also took their goals well and it could have been 5-0 or 6-0 on another day. It was probably a combination of them playing well and Newport having an off day because, looking at their record so far this season, Newport have been doing well and have ground out results home and away.

“We have also done a bit of homework watching DVDs on them and we know what they are about. They change their formations around a fair bit from three at the back to 4-3-3 and we have to make sure we are prepared for whatever scenario arises.

“They are quite strong and dangerous at set-pieces and long throws as well and, while they didn’t really create much in general play at Rochdale, I think that was just a one-off poor performance and we are expecting a tough game.”

City trained at Monmouth Town yesterday where Torpey’s former Swansea City team-mate Steve Jenkins is now manager.

Such arrangements are all important aspects of the pre-match routine that the Minstermen’s current management team of Worthington and Torpey like to follow with the latter explaining: “We try to give the players as much information as we can in terms of preparing for the game and the two things we insist upon most are high standards and work-rate.”

As City’s former youth-team coach, Torpey has also been delighted to see under-18 pair Tom Chamberlain and Cameron Murray get a taste of senior action this term.

He explained: “It’s a cliché but you don’t find anything out about young players until you play them. You need to see how they cope and it’s a bit similar to what Roy Hodgson did with Andros Townsend for England.

“It would have been quite easy to put him on the bench but, while some might have seen it as a gamble, Hodgson had faith in what the player could do and it paid dividends. Young players can do well in training but, when they are in and around the first team, they have to step up or show signs that they can step up in the future.”


Birthday shirt suits Tommy

LEGENDARY York City goalkeeper Tommy Forgan received a surprise 84th birthday present last weekend from current Bootham Crescent net-minder Michael Ingham.

The latter is now just 11 clean sheets short of Forgan’s 120 shutout record for the Minstermen and Ingham sent over a framed shirt to the former FA Cup semi-finalist’s Australian home to wish him many happy returns.

Forgan received the gift from his daughter, who said he was “humbled and rather emotional” following the gesture.

The Press would also like to thank Denise Ainscow for providing a copy of the photograph.