YORK City boss Steve Watson has given credit to his players after he picked up the National League North’s Manager of the Month award for October.

Watson guided his side to three league wins from four games over the course of October, beating Southport 3-1, Chester 1-0 and - in his side’s best performance of the season so far - Blyth Spartans 4-0.

City also performed well at Boston United in their sole defeat, two penalties costing them deserved reward from the trip to Lincolnshire.

Perhaps most impressively, he has done so while accommodating an ever-rotating cast of injured absentees, including at least one senior full-back, a centre-back and - most recently - a central midfielder.

In between those league victories came two FA Cup triumphs - at home to Whitby Town and at Morpeth Town - before City slumped out of the competition on November 6 at home to Buxton. In the process, the Minstermen also lost attacking midfielder Olly Dyson to a leg injury.

“It’s nice to be rewarded but I don’t see it as something to be delighted about when we’ve got so much on and it’s been so difficult,” Watson said.

“I think the credit really is to the players who have dug in.

“We’ve won three out of four games in that month with lads digging in, learning on the job, and we’ve come through it relatively well.

“We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing and if we can pick up three out of four wins in the next couple of months until we get our injuries back, we’ll be delighted.”