RUSS Wilcox insisted the ugly scenes at the end of York City’s 2-2 draw at Accrington Stanley are not helpful.

A group of angry supporters called for the City chief’s head after watching their relegation-threatened team miss out on a crucial victory following Josh Windass’ deflected 90th-minute equaliser.

The fans clashed with home stewards at the final whistle as they remonstrated with Wilcox and his players after the Minstermen had been pegged back twice following second-half Luke Summerfield and Jake Hyde goals.

Windass’ leveller earned Accrington an ill-deserved share of the spoils and the City boss said: “The fans were fantastic during the game and, if we had come away with a 2-1 win, which we should have done, we would have been talking about a terrific away performance.

“That’s not just putting a positive spin on things. It’s just being honest.

“The fans were singing, jumping around and dancing and everything was going really well. Then, everything changes in the 90th minute and the stuff at the end was very disappointing.

“I understand their frustration but nobody is more frustrated than me, my staff and my players and I don’t think that helps anybody. Normally, when you are looking at things as a spectator and want change, it’s when a team is not turning up, doesn’t put a shift in and looks disorganised.

“I’m not seeing that and the players, the staff and the board are fully behind me.”

City have now surrendered 11 points from the 88-minute mark and onwards in games this term and a “devastated” Wilcox was left cursing his side’s luck after watching Windass’ free kick spin past Bobby Olejnik off the visitors’ defensive wall.

“I thought we had the points in the bag and the game can be so cruel,” he lamented. “It was a deflected goal off our wall and I am devastated because it was a performance worthy of three points.

“The players are giving everything for this football club and for me. That cannot be questioned.

“It was two points lost again and we just need a little luck. Last season, when my team was at the top of the table, that shot would have deflected over but, if we keep the togetherness we have got, we will get out of the mess we are in. “I am going away from the game disappointed but I can’t be disappointed with the spirit, endeavour and quality of the team during the match.”

Wilcox did add, however, that the visitors contributed to their own downfall at the Crown Ground with skipper Russell Penn tripping Windass to concede the decisive dead-ball opportunity.

“We gave a cheap free kick away on the edge of the box and that’s all down to game management,” the Minstermen chief explained. “We know how many goals are given away from set plays in the final third in our division.

“We always touch on that and work on it. Their player had cut inside but was heading into a pack of bodies and going nowhere, which is so frustrating. “We’ve also drawn 17 games now and, if we’d won half of those, we would be sitting comfortably in mid-table.”

Wilcox switched to a 3-4-1-2 formation for the Lancashire test with centre-backs John McCombe and Dave Winfield recalled – the latter following his recall from a loan spell at AFC Wimbledon.

On the tactical change, Wilcox said: “I’ve been thinking about playing three at the back for a while and I thought we looked very comfortable back there. We only worked on it the day before the game but we had a lot of experienced players out there and I thought the system worked well.

“Dave (Winnfield) is back up to match speed now and it was always my intention to throw him back into the team as soon as Stephane got injured. We made the first contact on the ball in both boxes and looked strong.

“We mixed things up, competed, played some good football and looked a threat.”

Tom Platt, meanwhile, was given his first outing for more than four months as a 14th-minute substitute for Emile Sinclair, who suffered a thigh injury that makes him doubtful for the coming weeks.

The 21-year-old midfielder went on to have a hand in each of his team’s goals and Wilcox was pleased with his contribution, saying: “Tom Platt came on and did a terrific job.

“He’s not played for a while and, with having no reserve team, that makes it even more difficult for him to keep up to speed but he’s been so professional in his work and got his reward when Emile was injured.”

Marksman Summerfield also made a successful return to first-team duty after six weeks on the sidelines with a thigh problem.

On his display, Wilcox said: “It took Luke a while to get used to the match speed with the tempo a bit frantic early on but he did well and made a terrific 70-yard run for his goal on a good counter attack.”

Michael Coulson missed out at Accrington due to a hip injury but is expected to be available for next weekend’s trip to Mansfield.

The timescale of recovery for Stephane Zubar’s thigh injury is less clear and Wilcox admitted that might persuade him to pursue two new loan signings before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

City only fielded three of their five permitted matchday loan players at Accrington with Zubar crocked and Diego De Girolamo having moved on to Northampton.

First-year scholar Ben Godfrey, meanwhile, was promoted to the bench although Wilcox feels it might be unfair to throw the 17-year-old midfielder into the midst of a relegation dogfight.

He reasoned: “Naming Ben Godfrey as a substitute was a terrific reward for his performances for the youth team during the last month but we have lost another key player in Emile now and are down to the bare bones.

“We need experience in this situation and we are looking to get that in for our remaining games. We also know we will need to move quickly because the window closes on Thursday.”