York City have no need to hit the "panic button" insists Steve Watson

The Minstermen have lost three of their last four games - one league fixture, one FA Cup and one FA Trophy.

But York are still sitting pretty in the National League North, in second place and with a game in hand over King's Lynn Town, who lead the way by two points.

Win that and they are back on top.

Moreover, Watson believes there is more to come from York, who he reckons have yet to see the best of a few players.

Watson said: "I don't doubt that we've got a lot to do to win this but I've said before that we're not going to win the league in November. We're just over a third through the season. There's a lot of work to be done and a lot of hard games to be going through in the Christmas spell.

"I don't think we've had a great deal of luck.

"Two of our biggest summer signings we've been without for a large spell of the season and we've still done really well without them.

"You bring in somebody like Dan Maguire, a proven natural goalscorer, and he's found the step up to full-time football maybe a bit tougher than anybody would have envisaged.

"You're without McNulty for a large spell, although that side of things hasn't been affected as badly, but he's obviously a big help when he plays.

"There are reasons why we haven't put the ball away as much as we could.

"That said, we've still had some fantastic performances.

"Kempster's been a huge positive this year and Jordan always leads the line very well.

"I think there's more to come from Elliott Durrell.

"I think the midfielders have been good but I think they can be a little bit more adventurous, I think there are more goals to come from people like Kieran Green and Bondy, who have proven they can score at this level.

"There are still people waiting to click into gear, if you like, and we're still where we are.

"I can't emphasise enough about not hitting the panic button."

Following the three losses - most recently going down 1-0 at home to Altrincham in the FA Trophy - there were suggestions Watson might need to do something to lift York players' spirits.

Particularly at Bootham Crescent, York have seemed to play with a lack of confidence, often allowing the opposition to dictate the tempo of the game. This mindset seemed to bleed into the loss at Curzon Ashton two weeks ago, with Watson visibly frustrated to see the ball going backwards in the attacking third.

However, Watson does not see the need for drastic changes.

In the six meetings between York and Alfreton, there has not been a home win. The Reds won 2-1 on their visit to Bootham Crescent last season, with Macaulay Langstaff on target for York, before City won 3-2 at North Street thanks to Sean Newton, Alex Kempster and Jordan Burrow goals.

"If you look at all the aspects of playing at home, what should it provide?" he said. "It should provide a fantastic atmosphere for the players to relish in and it should be positive football.

"I don't think, at the moment, we have had anything at home which would describe that. Everybody's a bit edgy, the players are a bit edgy and the fans are a bit edgy.

"Once you step back and look at it, where did we want to be at this stage of the season? We wanted to be in and around chasing to get promoted and we are absolutely where we wanted to be.

"We're almost victims of our early success. Once we lost the league game, everybody - fans and players alike - have started to hit the panic button.

"This week for me has been about getting the lads back to the positivity and playing with the freedom we did early season.

"To be honest with you," he added. "We've done exactly what I think we needed to do.

"When I spoke after (Altrincham) I said I don't think we need to change a great deal.

"We've had a very good start to the season. We're out of both cups, obviously I'm not happy about that, but we've had a great start to the league campaign.

"I don't think anything dramatic needs to change. We just need to be a little bit more clinical and a little bit more positive with the ball."