The season starts here for York City according to skipper Steve Agnew, desperate to wipe from memory the disappointment of the 4-0 midweek mauling by Darlington.

The midfielder admits tomorrow's Division Three clash with Barnet can't come soon enough for the City players still haunted by their Tuesday night performance in the LDV Vans Trophy.

And while the defeat now means City have just the League left to play for, Agnew admits City have got to refocus their ambitions for the time being at least.

Despite City's lowly League position of 19th, a string of the positive results could keep a play-off dream alive.

However, Agnew, 35, admits City should put that ambition to one side now and instead concentrate on just getting into the top half of the table.

The highest position City have enjoyed this season is 13th at the start of September. It coincided with a five match unbeaten sequence, including a 1-0 win over tomorrow's opposition, Barnet.

However, since then they have rarely moved out of the bottom six.

"We keep saying it and then keep being disappointed by it, but we win or perform well and then have a bad result like the other night," said the City captain.

"It has got to the stage now where we have just got to focus and concentrate and start afresh now. This is the start of the second-half of the season.

"Our aim has got to be to try and win games back to back and if we can get three wins on the trot at some stage it gives us a good chance to move up the table.

"That will give the lads confidence because we have always been that six or seventh off the bottom and we have never gone on from there.

"Our ambition for the second-half of the season has got to be to go on from that position. That has got to drive people on because if we can get up the League then the confidence will come back."

City have yet to record back to back triumphs in the League this season although after the 1-0 Boxing Day victory over Macclesfield Town they have a chance to correct that sorry statistic at Underhill.

Agnew added: "It was massive disappointment for us on Tuesday. Everyone was concerned about the result and the way we went about it but we have had a chat now and we are all looking ahead to tomorrow."

He admitted he was at a loss as to explain why City could defend so stubbornly against Premiership Leicester City in the FA Cup and then three days later concede four goals at home to Darlington.

"It is difficult to say why, I suppose the two early goals against Darlington didn't help," he said.

"But defensively we have been solid recently and I don't know what it was really. Perhaps it was a lack of concentration.

"But I don't think we were quite at it throughout the team. From front to back we were a yard off the pace."

Updated: 11:50 Friday, January 12, 2001