GARY THORNTON has told the players not currently in York City Knights’ first team to be patient and stay focused – as every man in the squad is likely to be called upon during the all-important run-in.

Two consecutive home wins, over Doncaster and Keighley, have lifted the Knights to the fringes of the Kingstone Press Championship but, given the tightness in the division, they remain only four points from the drop zone.

There are now 11 games to go which will shape the Knights’ destiny, starting with a tough trip to title hopefuls Leigh on Sunday. This precedes a busy two months and, with the inevitable injuries, dips in form and different tactical approaches in that time, Thornton expects all his players to play important roles.

“July and August will be pretty congested and they will all play a part,” said head coach Thornton who wants his troops to stick together on and off the pitch, whether in the 17 or not.

“We have no free weeks in that time and we will have to double up at some point to get in the rearranged game at Doncaster (which was postponed in March).”

A free week last weekend, meanwhile, came at a good time, said Thornton, as it gave key men Jack Lee (shoulder), Adam Sullivan (knee), Simon Brown (back) and Sam Scott (various) a bit of time to rest niggling injuries.

“It will do them a power of good I hope,” said the first-team boss, who gave the players a week off, with the plan of getting them back in training tonight reinvigorated and ready to kick on.

“The change of scenery might just freshen everyone up. People worked hard in those last two weeks to turn things back round and the break will hopefully be well timed.”

Thornton had treated the Doncaster and Keighley games as a kick-start to the campaign following a dodgy run of five straight losses, albeit only three in the league. The two results proved crucial, too, as defeats would have left the Knights adrift at the foot of the table.

“We drew a line in the sand after that fifth (consecutive) defeat. We saw the Doncaster game as a new start. I’m pleased with the way that’s worked for us.

“We copped a bit of stick after some of the previous games, especially when we lost to Donny in the Northern Rail Cup. But we all bought into that idea of drawing a line in the sand and starting over, and I’m hoping we can kick on now.

“We treated the Doncaster (league) game as the start of a push towards the end of a season.”

He added: “Leigh will certainly test this new form of ours. It’s tough there. It’s a big, open field and they play it really well. It will offer a different challenge for us. But we’re high on confidence at the moment and if we can stick to what’s worked, you never know. I’ll be challenging the players to get a result.”