YORK City chief Terry Dolan believes the club's league form has been hampered by the massive turn-over of players at Bootham Crescent forced by financial constraints.

And Dolan is hoping with the announcement by the City board that they are to put the club up for sale, people will finally see why the club have been forced down this avenue.

But despite the financial on-goings, Dolan is confident the club can turn around their fortunes on the field.

"If you think of the situation when I first came here there was a lot of doubters who said we were going into the Conference, but we managed to turn things around," he told shareholders at the annual meeting.

"Then 12 months later, we had not done as well as we expected in the early part of the season and we were in a similar situation but again we pulled it around towards the end of the season.

"Now 12 months on we are in exactly the same position as far as the league table is concerned, but what people don't realise in that period of time there has been a big change over of personnel and that has been down to the lack of finances.

"We have had to bring youngsters through and put too many youngsters in the side, but that has been through necessity because of injuries or suspension.

"But I will say exactly now what I said 12 months ago and what I said before that - I've got every confidence, as far as the football team is concerned, that things will get better.

"I would hope the people who have heard this statement (from the City board) will see December 20, 2001 as the day realism finally set in.

"What is the alternative?

"It won't make my job easier and it won't make it any more difficult, we will strive to make the young players better, but that doesn't happen overnight."

He continued: "People talk about going into the Conference but this doesn't exist in my vocabulary. We are in the bottom five of the division at the moment - we were this time last year and were this time two-and-a-half years ago - but we pulled through it then and we will pull through it now.

"Individually we have better players potentially now than 12 months ago, but we are talking about potential, they are not the ready article yet.

"The youngsters will improve, the older players we've got have far better characters than the previous players, but unfortunately results haven't gone our way.

"I will be judged at the end of the season. Not after three months, not after six months, not now at Christmas. I will be judged at the end of season."

But whether club survives long enough for Dolan to be judged is now the main talking point for the City faithful.

Updated: 09:26 Friday, December 21, 2001