YORK City's managing director Steven Kilmartin believes that the budget for this coming season will be enough to get the club where it needs to be.

It has been confirmed that City boss Steve Watson will be working with a reduced - "but not significantly" - budget for the coming 2021/22 season.

After being frustrated his promotion bid of 2019/20, Watson is the man again tasked with setting the Minstermen on their way up the ladder.

City need to be in the top tier of the National League “as a minimum” Kilmartin added.

Competing in the National League, he explained, contributes to financial strife as travelling crowd sizes limit the income-generation potential of matchdays for host sides.

“It is less than last year but not significantly less,” Kilmartin confirmed. “I think the manager was comfortable when we mentioned it to him.

“Every manager would like an indeterminable budget but it is a question of living within means.

“It is sufficient, in my opinion, to take us out of this section of the league.

“We need to be in National League as a minimum. That is a step to where we really need to be, which is the Football League.

“You will always struggle financially within the National League.

“At this level, where away support is relatively minimal, it just cannot work financially.

“That is why on the original interviews with the manager, it was stressed to him that we need to get out, and to be fair, in his first full season in charge, we were top of the league. It didn’t occur for matters beyond all our controls.

“Last year was a disjointed year, therefore we have to move forward into the current season with some optimism.”

With the acquisition of striker and long-time target Kurt Willoughby, Watson has assembled a squad of 12 at this early juncture.

He will be aiming to add between another six and eight permanent signings, to be supplemented by loan players.

Sporting director Dave Penney, who arrived at City in 2017, added that there is always the chance the purse strings could be loosened at critical moments.

“I remember Sam (Collins, manager) signed about three people after one week quite quickly. That does happen, and will continue to happen,” he said.

“As a manager you always want to get a budget bigger and stretch it.

“When things are going great then you’re in a position to ask the sporting director to ask the board and the chairman to say, ‘This player might get us over the line’.

“If you get to Christmas top of the league and want a little kick to get you over the line then you’re in a position where the manager can ask the board.

“That will always happen at every club.

“Certainly since I’ve been here, the chairman’s rarely said no to anyone who’s asked for something extra to top up recruitment.”