YORK City manager Nigel Worthington already has transfer targets in mind after committing his future to the club.

Worthington has agreed to stay on as City boss next season after masterminding a successful battle against relegation, guiding the team to four wins and one draw from their final five games.

Former youth-team coach Steve Torpey, meanwhile, has also been promoted to the role of assistant manager with Worthington’s previous number two Fred Barber deciding to move on.

Worthington will now be pursuing specific players he believes will strengthen his ranks but is also waiting to discover who will become available once the Football League play-offs have been concluded and each club’s retained lists are compiled.

On his recruitment policy, the Minstermen chief said: “It’s obviously a big challenge to get players now. That’s going to take time but, over the next six or seven weeks, I will be trying to get players I think will move us forward.

“I have targets in mind but will be looking at who becomes available as well. You have to be open-minded and patience might be the name of the game but, even if there are no announcements straight away, there will be a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes.”

Worthington added that his decision to continue at the Bootham Crescent helm had been influenced by the board, the club’s staff and its supporters.

He said: “I’m delighted to commit my future to the football club. After two months here, I have made the decision because of the people who own the club and the good people at the club.

“Everybody has been great to work with. The fans have also been a main reason for me wanting to stay because they have been absolutely amazing at home and phenomenal away.”

Worthington made no promises when outlining his future ambitions for the Minstermen but believes hard work and togetherness will be the key to ensuring improved fortunes, saying: “My ambition is to do as well as I can as an individual.

“That has to come from myself with a lot of hard work. Then, the same must apply to everybody at the football club because it’s very important that everybody works together from me as manager, Steve as assistant manager, the players and fans.

“That’s a huge thing for me because, then, you can make things happen. We might be taking tiny steps at first but that’s fine as long as they are in the right direction.”

On the elevation of Torpey, who Worthington turned to for advice on the first-team squad with Gary Mills’ coaching team of Darron Gee, Des Lyttle and Paul Musselwhite having all departed along with the dismissed manager, the former Northern Ireland boss said: “It’s never an ideal situation when a manager leaves but, from the word go, Steve has been outstanding in his attitude and the information he has passed to me.

“His coaching ability has impressed me and he’s a terrific guy to work with. I’m delighted for him.

“He’s gone from academy manager to first-team coach to assistant manager in the space of two months. I’m just hoping now that he doesn’t become manager in another two months’ time.”

Barber, meanwhile, is now expected to pursue his career as a freelance goalkeeping coach but Worthington paid tribute to the part he played in the Minstermen’s survival scrap, saying: “Fred had the opportunity to stay at the club but decided he wanted to move on.

“As much as I am sorry to lose him, that’s football and it was his decision. You cannot hang around in football and, as soon as Fred told me he would be leaving, I had no hesitation in talking to Steve.

“Somebody of Fred’s quality will not be short of offers and I’d like to thank him for what he’s done over the last two months and wish him well.”

Barber’s departure will also leave the club in need of a new goalkeeper coach but Worthington admitted: “That’s something we will have to look at but it’s not my first priority. Targeting new players and getting those we want to sign contracts will be the main focus now.”

Chairman Jason McGill, meanwhile, expressed his pleasure at Worthington’s decision to continue his work at the Crescent.

“We were only interested in one person taking this club forward and that was Nigel Worthington,” McGill stressed.

“During our last ten games of the season he displayed exceptional managerial skills and impressed us with his work ethic and total professionalism.

“There is much hard work to be done to prepare for the new season ahead and we are very pleased to have a manager in place who can help us improve the club and build for a better future.”