WITH York City Knights's season suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to get to know some of those who work behind the scenes, continuing with media manager Gavin Wilson.

How did you get into the role?

"I graduated from Leeds Trinity University studying sports journalism in 2010 and afterwards I worked for LoveRugbyLeague, which was a dream role for me.

"I first started working for the Knights in 2013. It was pretty cool to establish the social media for the Knights in that time.

"I went back to LoveRugbyLeague for a while and then, in 2017, Jon Flatman had taken over the club and he gave me a call and asked if I’d be interested in coming back.

"As a life-long York fan, I think he recognised that I could help re-establish a connection between the club and the fans.

"Things have flourished from there over the past few years and it’s been three of the most enjoyable years that I’ve had in my professional career."

Has the success on the field made your job a little bit easier too?

“Absolutely! Under James Ford, we’ve always been in with a shout, regardless of the situation.

"In 2017, it was almost like I was falling back in love with the club, there was a real air of positivity around the place and that culminated in that epic play-off game against Whitehaven.

"2018 was an incredible year, from the very first game against Bradford at Bootham Crescent with 4,500 fans packed in, we knew it was going to be a great year.

"Last year was incredible too, going on that run of winning so many games by one or two scores, it was fantastic.

"It really makes my job easier when the team are performing on the field."

Working for the club in a professional capacity, can you still retain that passion of a fan?

“Honestly, I’m living my dream job. I’m very fortunate to be able to do what I do, working for the Knights. I get to report on the games and be the link between the club and the fans.

"We’ve got a really good relationship with our fans. The support has gone up massively since the nomadic days when we’d have 300 to 400 fans coming to games.

"On more than one occasion recently, we’ve had more than 3,000-4,000. To be able to report and convey that, and build on that relationship is an absolute dream for me."

How much satisfaction do you take from some of the big crowds that you've had over the past few seasons?

"It's absolutely fantastic and it fills you up with so much pride to see the stands packed out, with families coming out to watch the Knights.

"There's exciting times coming with the new stadium and there's hard work to be done to bring that fan-base over into our new home."

York have had lots of praise for their social media accounts. How would you describe your approach to them?

“Social media is a vitally important tool, not just for communication but for also for engagement with the fans.

"If you can build up that engagement then the fan-base feels a lot more connected to the club. Our social media and image is a reflection of the club itself.

"We like to spread as much positivity around as possible. Sometimes we can be a little bit cheeky with it here and there. We like to have fun with it and make people laugh.

How much of an effect does your disability have upon your role?

“Through the week, it doesn’t make much of a difference to me during the week. I can do my website and social media work from home.

"I’ve also had a brilliant media assistant over the past two season in Joe Smith – he’s been doing the live tweets during the games.

""Back in the day, it used to be me doing that and I could only really manage score updates because I was doing it from my phone on the side of the pitch as opposed to the press box.

"Accessibility wise, below Super League, there are issues at a lot of clubs. Press boxes are a struggle to access for me, even if I were at Wembley, and that’s just a matter of life. I get invited to the hospitality areas on occasions and I really appreciate that.

"At Bootham Crescent, they don’t have any disabled facilities at all and I’ll be at the corner of the field with the other corner blocked out to me due to the dugouts and coaching staff.

"It will be 100 per cent better when we move into the LNER Community Stadium and that’s something that I’m really looking forward to.

That lack of access at Bootham Crescent is something that probably goes unnoticed too...

"I totally understand the emotional connection that, particularly York City fans, have to Bootham Crescent.

"But we need to have a clean, safe, first-class stadium with modern facilities that the Community Stadium will provide. It’s going to be fantastic and hopefully both clubs will be making new memories in the new stadium soon."