YORK City interim manager Michael Morton has confirmed that Sam Sanders will be departing the club on a short-term loan deal.

Sanders will join Vanarama National League North side Boston United on a short-term deal, with the hopes of the young defender regaining fitness having not started a match for York since Boxing Day.

However, Morton has promised that Sanders still has a big role to play in the future of the club.

“Sam hasn’t started a game since Boxing Day. For me I think he has got the potential, he’s got another year at York so we will see a future centre-half for York.

"I think at this moment in time we have got quite a few centre-halves and right now he needs to play, he needs to play games and we don’t want him just sat on the bench.

"It might be five or six games from now that he gets his opportunity so for us it is just a short-term loan, he’s got to go out, get some games and we’ll see where he is in the next three or four weeks and potentially might have to call him back."

Morton also explained the absence of captain Lenell John-Lewis, and why it paved the way for Michael Duckworth to temporarily fill the vacancy.

“He's feeling his hamstring. Obviously with all the games that have gone on we knew that there would be a couple.

"He tried to do light training yesterday and just said that he could feel it, hopefully it’s not too bad but it might just be a case of one or two weeks or so.

“Lenny and all the lads are in there and we’ve all said that it is really disappointing.

"We can’t feel sorry for ourselves, we’ve got to try and put in a similar sort of performance from that second half and take our chances whilst limiting the chances on the opposite side.

“[Michael Duckworth] is a York lad, he loves the club.

"He’s been outstanding over the last couple of games since he came in, he’s a good character around the club so we just felt like that would be good for him and good for the group.

“It’s not just him, it’s all the other lads. We’ve got a big squad who are all working their socks off and their attitudes have been brilliant and they are pushing now.

"Like I’ve just said, I think we have to be ruthless with some decisions and put the players that have been working hard in and hopefully you’ll see some of the performances like Mike Duckworth coming in."

Morton was also grateful that midfielder Dan Pybus hadn't been sent off, despite the demands from the Altrincham players to the referee.

“They’d broken the line and it was too easy at the top. He had to go and win that one and I think he got lucky when he jumped away, but I think because he got out of the way there the ref gifted him a favour."