GOALKEEPER Peter Jameson says he’s looking forward to visiting former club Blyth Spartans tonight, but insisted that any friendliness will be put on hold come kick-off.

York City will be aiming to extend their unbeaten start to the season which has put them top of the National League North table when they face the winless North East club.

Jameson is one of four York players to have previously represented Blyth and he admits he still retains lots of affection for his former employers.

“I’m looking forward to going back there because I had a really enjoyable couple of years there,” he said.

“I’ve got a lot of time for the fans up there and I’m still in contact with some of the people there as it’s a great club. It’ll be nice to go back and see some old faces.

“I’m in a group chat with a few of the lads from up there. We all have a bit of banter and crack. But, obviously, when the match kicks off at 7:45, it’ll be down to business and we’ll be there to get the win.

“It’s not nice to see what’s happened at the club, in terms of losing players. I’m just hoping that the new players at the club do well for them - just not as well as us!”

The Minstermen have conceded just once from their first three league matches, keeping clean sheets in their last two encounters.

“It’s great that our success has been built on the defence,” Jameson added. “Since coming to the club, the gaffer (Steve Watson) has been very defensive-minded, probably from being a defender himself as a player.

“As a goalkeeper, I’m looking in front of me and there’s Macca (Steve McNulty), (Joe) Tait and (Sean) Newton. It’s a really solid defence.

“Then there’s (Adriano) Moke and (Andy) Bond in front of those two as well. It’s a great spine.

“The lads in the team have all got the mentality that they will run through a brick wall for the gaffer. We’ve got that bedded into us and it’s a really strong dressing room.

“I’m really loving my time here. I’m in full-time football and I’m playing as well as I would have wanted to.

“I’ve got my own goals and ambitions about what I want to achieve here. It’s great to be able to make some last-minute saves, but that’s just part of my job.”

That City backline has had a different look this season with Watson employing a 3-5-2 formation during the opening matches. It’s a system which Jameson relishes.

“Personally, I love the three at the back formation,” he beamed.

“It’s quite an offensive formation but then also if we are defending then we can pull our two wing backs in and make it into a five-man defence.

“The lads in front of us would agree that it is working for us. It’s been a new formation to myself and the other lads so it’s working at the moment.

“I think during pre-season we were a little unsure about our positions and where our runners were.

“Things like who we were picking up in defence and marking those players in the pockets.

“But, the gaffer sat down with us and explained our roles to each of us and the results have shown that it’s working so far.”