YORK City boss Neal Ardley has been impressed by goalkeeper George Sykes-Kenworthy's recent showings between the sticks. 

Sykes-Kenworthy was Ardley's first permanent addition to the football club, joining York in October for an undisclosed fee from Northern Premier League outfit Bradford (Park Avenue) after the shot-stopper had been named as captain at the lower league outfit. 

Despite making the step up in two divisions, Sykes-Kenworthy has rarely looked out of place in England's fifth tier, with Ardley admitting that he had been impressed by the 24-year-old after an imposing performance in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Southend United. 

Sykes-Kenworthy had been unlucky to miss out on back-to-back clean sheets in last night's 1-0 defeat to Dorking Wanderers, after a fantastic strike from the visitors' Tom Blair, with Ardley also admitting that he had considered bringing the goalkeeper to his former club Solihull Moors in the Summer.

“I looked a lot at George in the Summer when I was at a different club, so he was on my radar back then," Ardley told the Press.

"I knew what qualities he brought, being a Northern lad it was quite an easy decision for us to make by adding a young lad to squad.

"We’ve got to try and manage that, we’ve got three good goalkeepers here and they all push each other in training.

"The goalkeepers union is a harmonious one, and that can only help benefit all three of them.

“There’s no doubt that the defensive record has been strong, certainly in the last 14, 15 games.

"George has played a big part in that, but also the defence has tightened up.

"One thing I inherited was the worst defensive record in the league, we were too open and weren’t cohesive enough in our defending.

"We’ve worked hard to make sure that everybody does that job, from forwards to midfielders.

"It’s a team ethic, and a team thing that protects the goalkeeper, but when they’re called upon we need them to do what they’re good at.

"I certainly think he’s managed to do that, but it’s the team that need the plaudits."

Ardley also remains cautious on handling Sykes-Kenworthy when making the step up from part-time to full-time football, with the City boss offering some insight into how the club have managed that.

"There’s lots of challenges when you come from part-time training into full-time, but with George we’ve tried to manage him and when he couldn’t play in the cup we gave him a bit of time off.

"It doesn’t matter if you’re a goalkeeper or not, you still get tired through fatigue and mental fatigue."