Sam Collins believes York City's mental toughness is growing

The Minstermen had lost each of their last eight away games in which the had conceded first before coming back from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw at Nuneaton on Tuesday night.

City also won their first league match at home in which they had shipped the first goal for more than two years when they saw off Guiseley 4-2 last weekend.

Collins is now hoping the players demonstrate the same psychological strength to avoid a potential Cup upset against the Cambridgeshire Evo-Stik League South Premier Central part-timers in front of a small Bootham Crescent crowd.

The Minstermen despatched Ashton Athletic 5-0 in the previous round, having netted four times before the break, with Collins demanding the same approach from his team to a tie that he expects to present more of a challenge with the standard of the opposition having risen by two divisions.

He said: “We showed mental toughness at Nuneaton, where the pitch wasn’t great, and it was windy, but we still came back twice to get a draw and I’m hoping we are building that togetherness to keep going in the group. St Ives are a young team with energy, who try and play a little bit.

“They go about the game the right way and did some really good things when I watched them against Grantham in the last round. They have a wide player, who has got really good pace and is direct, as well as a couple of experienced players in midfield, so I’m not expecting an easy game by any means.

“I’m expecting a tougher game than Ashton, but we’ve got to repeat the performance we put in against them by playing with the same energy and we’re at home on a good pitch, which will suit us. We need to show the same attitude, be professional and work hard.”

Collins added, meanwhile, that he would not be resting any players for the contest, reasoning: “There are no injury issues, and everybody is available, so we will be going with the strongest side we have got.”