YORK City assistant-manager Micky Cummins is looking forward to seeing how the club’s defence copes with National League North’s top-three goal scorers.

The Minstermen will tackle 23-goal Glen Taylor when Spennymoor visit Bootham Crescent on Good Friday, before the final two games of the campaign pitch them against Bradford Park Avenue’s Jake Beesley and Daniel Udoh, of Telford, who have both netted 19 times in the league.

Taylor has grabbed 29 goals in all competition this term for the Moors and Cummins will be watching closely to see how on-loan centre-back Jasper Moon, in particular, copes against the division’s most potent frontmen in consecutive contests.

The 18-year-old Barnsley defender has joined City with the view to a season-long loan next season and, on the test ahead, Cummins said: “It’s all part of Jasper’s education because, each game he plays, is seeing him come up against different types of strikers.

“One game it can be somebody fast who plays off your shoulder and wants to get in behind and, then, like this weekend, it can be somebody big and strong like Glen Taylor. Newts (Sean Newton) is enjoying a good spell in the team as well, so we want to see if we can stop them from scoring.

"Every game is a lesson for us and we want to see how far we have come as a group and who can come on the journey with us next season."

City’s leading league marksman, meanwhile, remains 11-goal Jordan Burrow, who is currently on a barren run of nine games, with Cummins adding: “Alex Ferguson once said ‘attack wins you games, defence wins you titles’ but, this season, those with the top scorers are flying and you do need goalscorers.”

Cummins went on to declare that teenage keeper Ryan Whitley can “make a decent living in the game”, with the City management team offering their full support for the ex-Archbishop Holgate school pupil despite a costly mistake in only his second senior outing during last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Chester.

“He’s a talented, young boy with a bright future if he listens and learns,” Cummins said. “He was the first to hold his hand up and apologise after the game and it’s difficult as a keeper because, when you make a mistake, there’s nobody there to dig you out.

“His response has been fantastic this week and his approach to training has been excellent. He has a composure and attitude that is beyond his years and he’s always looking to improve.

“He works well with the gaffer and myself, as well as all the defenders in the group. He’s taken big strides in the time we’ve been here, and he has a fantastic opportunity to make a decent living in the game.

“We are backing him and trying to fill him with encouragement, as is the goalkeeper-coach (Andy Collett), who has a previous record of working with keepers and moving them on. Ryan is a player who responds better to an arm around him, rather than a rollicking and he will also have a go back at the defenders. He’s a character and one of the good ones.”

From their time in charge of Spennymoor’s National League neighbours Gateshead, Cummins also pointed out that he and City boss Steve Watson are more familiar with the next visitors to Bootham Crescent than they are most sixth-tier sides.

“We know them quite well,” he confessed. “They will play 4-4-1-1 and will have lots of energy and enthusiasm in the middle of the park.

“They don’t take many risks at the back and get the ball up to Taylor with the wide men and midfielders working off him. They are not blessed with technical ability everywhere, but they have quality in the right areas, and they will be on the front foot as they’re in a strong position in the league.

“But we feel there are a couple of areas where we can get at them and we’ve been working on that in training.”