TEN days to shake the Conference world - that's caretaker boss Viv Busby's rallying-cry to his senior Minstermen, writes Tony Kelly.

City's historically painful FA Cup demise - they tumbled out to Carlisle in their first appearance in the fourth-qualifying round - means a fortnight without a game between the jarring loss to Forest Green and the trip to Woking on November 20.

Busby hailed the break as a major boon as it would screen any distractions from the new administration's aim of re-igniting the campaign.

And during the next ten days between now and the clash against Woking at the Cards' Kingfield base the emphasis will be placed on the senior members of the squad digging the Minstermen out of their present doldrums.

Busby told the Evening Press: "It's a major bonus not having a game. Obviously things have to settle down after the bombshell of Chris Brass.

"But there will be a good chat about where we are going and we will point the finger if we have to.

"It's now time for the senior players. If they can all stay fit then they will be told to have a go at it."

Busby insisted he was not having a go at the current crop of City youngsters, who had recently sampled first-team duty. They had been thrown into the first-team out of necessity with the club blighted by one of its worst injury crises, he said, adding that at one point last week City had just six players for a training session and eight the next day.

"You cannot ask kids to do men's' jobs. You can't ask them to go into pressure games and get good results because they are not used to that," said Busby.

"The senior players are used to it, because sometime in their careers they will have come up against times when they have gone through this.

"Due to the injuries which have decimated the squad Chris had to put the kids in. But we are now close to having the full squad fit and that gives us more options as well as releasing the kids from some of the pressure they have been put under."

Busby also advocated a return to meaner defending. "We've got to get back to working hard to keeping clean sheets and being positive about keeping clean sheets. Defending is an art.

"If you give three goals away you can't expect to go and score four to win."

Updated: 10:41 Wednesday, November 10, 2004