Loan ace Bobby Olejnik hails York City's 'awesome' support

The Minstermen faithful took just 15 minutes to dedicate a new song to the former Austrian under-21 international during his impressive debut at Wycombe last month.

They have also helped Olejnik win The Press Player of the Month award for January with their on-line man-of-the-match votes and the appreciation is mutual for the 28-year-old, shot-stopper.

Olejnik has been surprised by the vocal support for a team that has only won one home match all season and, ahead of this afternoon's Bootham Crescent meeting with Dagenham & Redbridge, he said: "The fans are awesome and there's so many of them, which I didn't really expect.

"I came to watch the game against Plymouth, though, before I signed for the club and they really got behind the team. That's something you look forward to as a player and I've been at clubs where you don't really get that.

"The team had to get the crowd going, but the supporters here don't need that. They get us going, which is really encouraging."

On the City supporters' current favourite chant of "Bobby O", sang to the tune of "Kumbaya", the 6ft 2in netminder smiled: "I try not to listen to it too much because you need to concentrate on the game and there's no point making a good save if you're going to then get carried away with the crowd signing your name.

"I've heard it a couple of times though and I think it's quite funny. I'd never had that one before and it's always good to make an impact on the fans.

"That's big for any player and helps the team as well. You want a good relationship with the fans because that's what football's all about."

Olejnik is yet to taste victory or keep a clean sheet during four games for City but he insists he has been heartened by the team's performance levels since his arrival from London Road.

"It's been enjoyable and great to be back playing regular football, but a bit frustrating not to have got more out of the matches," he admitted. "Wycombe wasn't the best of games on my debut but the displays have been getting steadily better ever since.

"We were the best team by far against Burton and Southend during our last two matches and that's given us lots of encouragement. We've just not taken our chances to get the points, so the next step is turning those performances into clean sheets and wins to move up the table."

SAFE HANDS: Bobby Olejnik thwarts a raid in the game against Wycombe Wanderers

He also argued that the drop to third-bottom in the Sky Bet League Two standings is no cause for panic given the amount of teams bunched together in the lower division's lower reaches.

"Our situation hasn't changed too much," Olejnik reasoned. "There are still so many teams that can get dragged into it and it doesn't make much of a difference if you are two or three places further up the table.

"If we were seven or eight points adrift, then maybe I would be a bit worried but there's a two-point difference between seven sides at the moment, so I'm not too concerned.

"We've got three games and nine big points coming up for grabs over the next week and everybody is positive and looking forward to those matches."

Olejnik added, meanwhile, that the late goals that have cost the side three points during the last two games have been due to the team's positive approach rather than a loss of concentration.

He explained: "We haven't been parking the bus and hoping to get a point, so these things can happen when you're trying to press for a win but, hopefully, we will put that right from now on."

The Vienna-born keeper also reckons that former Peterborough team-mate Emile Sinclair, snapped up by City during the transfer window, carries the necessary firepower to shoot the side to safety, saying: "He's already scored so that's a monkey off his back because that can be a burden and a worry when you're coming in to a new club.

"Anybody who has watched Emile will know what he brings to a team. He's strong, powerful and a good runner so, hopefully, we can get more goals from him on a regular basis.

"I remember the hat-trick he got for Peterborough against Hull the season they got promoted to the Premier League so I know he's a player who can win you a game single-handedly."