SCOTT Burgess has signalled his interest in a permanent move to York City.

The on-loan Bury midfielder has started nine of the Minstermen’s last ten matches since arriving from the League Two promotion candidates, scoring a spectacular goal during last month’s 2-1 triumph at Kidderminster.

Burgess, 21, has been at Gigg Lane since joining the club as an under-16 scholar and made his first-team debut at the age of 16.

He went on on to make a total of 23 senior appearances for the Shakers and scored two goals - all as a teenager - but hasn’t featured at all over the last two seasons at his parent club, who have farmed him out on loan to Macclesfield, Wrexham and the Minstermen.

Burgess is now relishing the regular starts he has been afforded by City boss Steve Watson and would be open to discussions regarding his plans for 2019/20.

Last season’s National League title winner said: “I’ve been at Bury for a long time now, but I haven’t played there for the last two seasons and it’s probably time for me to go somewhere and get regular football. It didn’t work out for me when I went to Wrexham this season, but the gaffer here as shown faith in me, when I haven’t had that from other managers so, hopefully, coming here could be a possibility.

“It’s a massive club at this level that needs to be playing a lot higher and I believe the gaffer will help do that. Nothing has been mentioned yet and I’m focussed on helping the team progress this season. Hopefully, we can then sit down and go from there in the summer.”

Having also enjoyed a loan spell in Scandinavia at the age of 18, Burgess would not be fazed by making a full-time switch from his Warrington base.

“I went to Norway for three months when I was quite young to play for Bergsoy, so I’m used to being away from home,” he reasoned. “It was completely different in terms of the lifestyle and the style of football and, whilst it was a bit strange being out there on my own, I’m now appreciative of the good experience I got there.”

Burgess also argued that being exposed to constant game time under Watson has improved him as a player.

“When you’re playing regularly, you get the experience to adapt to certain situations and, hopefully, I’ve repaid the manager’s faith in me,” he explained.

City and Burgess’ next challenge will encompass a trip to Guiseley this weekend - the club’s nearest neighbours at National League North level.

The Minstermen’s last visit ended in a horrific 6-1 defeat during October 2016 and the Nethermoor outfit also sealed the Bootham Crescent outfit’s relegation to sixth-tier football with a last-minute goal on the final day of that campaign.

But Burgess is uninterested in recent history as he targets victory, whilst acknowledging Guiseley, who need points to aid their fight against relegation, are likely to treat the game as a derby.

“They are a team local to us, which adds a bit of a rivalry, but it’s really just another game we need to win and believe we can do,” he declared. “It will be difficult to get into the top seven, but I still believe we can do.”

Burgess also reckons the team will approach the match in a positive manner, having fought back with 10 men to secure a 3-3 draw at FC United on Tuesday

“I can’t ever remember coming back like that with 10 men to get a result, but the manager said he’d seen it many times in the past at half-time,” Burgess added. “We didn’t play too badly in the first half but conceded twice from set-pieces and that was very frustrating because we pride ourselves on dealing with those situations.

“We also had quite a few chances and it could have been 4-4 in the first half, because it was a very open game. Then, Adriano (Moke) got sent off and we regrouped at half-time only to go 3-1 down almost straight away.

“But that seemed to draw us together and, after that, I thought we had control of the game. We looked like we had the extra man and, when Wes (York) scored the second goal, it gave us the belief to get a third.

“We then finished the match a bit frustrated, because I was certain I was onside when the assistant’s flag went up, but he told me it was the easiest decision he had made all night and that I was five yards offside, which I didn’t agree with. I was screaming at Wes for the ball and I thought I was going through to win us the game but, coming back from 3-1 to take a point, still has to be taken as a positive.”