NEW assistant-manager Micky Cummins insisted that York City need more “urgency, excitement and positivity” despite a 6-1 victory over Redcar Athletic at Bootham Crescent.

Cummins was joined in the dugout by agitated City boss Steve Watson for the last quarter-of-an-hour of the North Riding Cup quarter-final clash, which saw the hosts name a full squad of senior professionals.

Ex-Gateshead chief Watson had watched the majority of the match scribbling notes in the directors’ box, where City chairman Jason McGill also looked on, having been absent from first-team games for a number of weeks.

Macaulay Langstaff and Alex Kempster subsequently added late goals after Stuart Browne had reduced the deficit for the Northern League second division minnows following earlier efforts from Jon Parkin, Kallum Griffiths, Joe Tait and Liam Agnew, who was red carded for supposed dangerous play on 82 minutes.

Despite the margin of victory, Cummins felt the display highlighted why the Minstermen currently find themselves sitting sixth bottom in the National League North table, pointing out: “The result was always going to go our way, but it was clear what’s missing here from the performance.

“We need a bit of tempo, urgency, excitement and positivity. I lost count of the number of sideways passes we made and me and the gaffer have an attacking philosophy and that’s what we want at the club.

“There has to be enthusiasm and a spark, because that then translates to the crowd as well. We want midfielders breaking lines and full-backs marauding forward and putting crosses in, but everything seemed to be safe and, without meaning any disrespect to Redcar, we should have been running all over them.

“We should have been dominant and looked stronger and fitter but, at times, we got brushed aside and reacted a bit slowly. It’s all stuff we can work on, though, and I don’t want to point fingers and criticise.”

In a disjointed second period, Redcar had further opportunities to net, with Cummins particularly perturbed by a vulnerability at dead-ball situations.

The former Republic of Ireland under-21 international added: “They had too many opportunities at set-pieces and we looked like we were going to concede from those situations, so that’s another area we’ve got to work on.”

Cummins went on to stress the need for more players who will inspire and guide those around them, arguing: “There aren’t many leaders and there’s some manoeuvrability in terms of what we can bring in, but our first job is to get what we have on the front foot.”

With Simon Heslop injured, Jordan Burrow was the only senior player rested from squad duty, while David Ferguson and Jake Wright were unused subs, with Cummins insisting: “You can’t read anything into the starting line-up.

“We just looked at the last few games and at the lads who needed minutes. In the videos we watched, Jordan had played a lot of minutes and we felt it was an opportunity to look at other players.

“He still did a bit of running, though, so he didn’t have the day off.”

Agnew was red-carded for a foul on Redcar winger Gary Redman, but the suspension will not apply to National League North games and Cummins questioned whether the on-loan Harrogate Town midfielder should have been dismissed in any case.

“It was sloppy play on our part, because Josh (Law) lost the ball with a square pass and I then thought Aggers was well within his rights to make a challenge,” the former Port Vale midfielder declared. “It wasn’t a lunge, it was a slide but, because the ball was in the air, their lad made a meal of it, and we were pretty disappointed by the reaction of the opposition.”

City actually finished the match with nine men, as Alex Harris left the pitch with a tight hamstring muscle, which will now be assessed before Saturday’s trip to Stockport.

Fellow midfielder Heslop is unlikely to be fit for the weekend, but both Parkin and Kempster could feature despite neither starting a first-team fixture since the first month of the season.

When asked if 37-year-old veteran Parkin still has a part to play this term, Cummins said: “It’s something we’ll look at. The intention was to give him 90 minutes, but I don’t think he got many scoring opportunities because of the team’s slow play.

“Off the ball, Jon got himself in good positions and in areas to attack crosses, but never got the supply, which is what we need to work on to get the best out of what we’ve got.”

On Kempster’s first City outing since his return from a loan spell at Spennymoor, the City number two reasoned: “He played in midfield and at wing-back and he has good energy and is positive. He also switched off a couple of times, but we can work on that.”