YORK City boss Chris Brass is ordering his players to keep fighting for their Third Division lives.

Last night's 2-1 home defeat against Yeovil means the Minstermen are effectively four points from safety with three games to go because of their insurmountably inferior goal difference.

The first of those matches is Saturday's trip to championship-chasing Doncaster where City could be relegated bar a mathematical miracle if they are beaten while Scunthorpe win at home to Macclesfield and Rochdale triumph at Kidderminster.

But Brass insists his team must not throw the towel in yet despite equalling the club record of 17 League games without a win last night.

He said: "I believe in the lads and they have shown in patches like the first half tonight that they can put in a decent performance but we have made it extremely hard for ourselves now. We have got three massive games and are reliant on others slipping up.

"We have got to dig in though because it's not over until it's over. Whatever the mathematical equations are, you keep fighting until the end.

"We have got to go to Doncaster and keep believing. We have got to spoil their party, stick together and get on with it.

"We have got to show the same fight and passion we did in the first half against Yeovil because if we go down fighting then that's life but we will have to do it that way."

Brass' ranks will also be depleted at Belle Vue with Richard Hope starting a two-match suspension, the manager himself nursing a hip injury and his assistant Lee Nogan unlikely to play any part after sustaining a suspected depressed fracture of the cheekbone last night.

Darren Dunning fired City ahead after eight minutes last night but second half goals from Paul Terry and Andy Lindegaard condemened them to defeat.

Both goals were contentious but Brass refused to blame referee Graham Laws for the defeat afterwards, saying: "Richard Cooper was down for two minutes with a head injury picked up during the build-up to the equaliser and he's an honest lad who does not lie down unless he's hurt.

"Perhaps the referee thought there might have been a bit of kidology but he was down because he had a smack on the head.

"But these things happen and you can't rely on other people. You have to stay alive and switched on and the ball was still in play for a minute or so after the incident happened so you have got to deal with it.

"Likewise, I thought there was a handball before the second goal and the whole of the stand jumped up but it was on his blindside and officials make mistakes. I don't want to be drawn into commenting too much.

"I think we were deservedly on top at half-time and comfortable but we dropped a bit too deep in the second half and could not press and get in people's faces like we did before the break."

Brass also added that he would enter talks with Huddersfield about extending Jon Newby's loan spell at Bootham Crescent until the end of the season when his agreed one-month spell expires after the Doncaster game.

He said: "I think it will depend on injuries and suspensions at Huddersfield but I would like him to stay."

Updated: 11:32 Wednesday, April 21, 2004