KURT WILLOUGHBY has hailed the quality of the two pre-season games he has been involved in so far and hopes everybody will be ready for tomorrow night.

The striker rejoined York City ahead of the 2021/22 pre-season campaign. He missed out on the first warm-up match, a trip to Whitby Town, as he was isolating as a contact but has had more than 100 minutes across the last two games.

He got an hour in the win against Newcastle United on the Sunday before last and then netted the equaliser in the second half in last Wednesday’s draw with Sunderland.

On Tuesday, the Minstermen complete their trio of high-profile North East friendlies at the LNER Community Stadium with the visit of Championship outfit Middlesbrough (7pm).

“It’s been two good games, hasn’t it?” Willoughby said. “It’s good to test ourselves against teams in a lot higher league but we’ve done ourselves justice - we’ve matched them and, in spells, we’ve done better.

“We’ve defended well when we’ve needed to.

“We’ve got out of it what we wanted. We’re happy so far.”

Willoughby made a splash when he came to York for a month during the 2019/20 National League North campaign when he scored three goals in four games.

Smashing one in as he did on Wednesday should be a boon for the striker, who seemed to give York’s attack an extra edge following his half-time introduction against Sunderland.

“I like to drop in, get on the ball and turn but I also like to play on the shoulder and get in behind,” he explained.

“It’s a good blend to have and I feel it can be hard to defend at times.

“I just want to do that - whatever gets me the most chances and the most goals for the team. That’s my aim.

“You always want to score in any game you play in, whether it’s a friendly, a league game or a cup game,” he added.

“It’s good to get on the scoresheet. It’s good for the confidence.

“I came on loan for a month and I loved it (at York) straight away. The fans took to me really well and that’s part of the reason I’ve come back.

“Hopefully it’s a successful season for everyone.”

On the Sunderland outing as a whole - the side’s second in four sweltering days - he commented: “It was a tough game.

“There was a quick turnaround but I feel like everyone was fit - no major injuries and went into the game feeling fresh.

“We have to recover well now and get ready for the next game.

“That heat doesn’t help but the lads all dug in. We’re building up our minutes now, building towards getting 90 minutes in.

“The boys are all looking fit and we matched a League One side in a lot of spells.

“It’s all looking good there.”