YORK City player-boss Chris Brass has called on his side to show more desire and passion after the club dropped into the Division Three relegation zone after yesterday's 2-0 home defeat against Macclesfield.

Brass felt certain players appeared uncommitted to the City cause and will pay by losing their places for the Good Friday trip to Cambridge United.

The City chief said: "You have got to show desire, commitment and passion in times like these and Macclesfield showed a bit extra. I can't accept that. The players have got to realise the situation we are now in.

"If seeing where we are in the table this morning does not give you an incentive then nothing can.

"There's no place to hide now. Certain players did not show enough desire and we have got to make sure that every player who puts on that red shirt will give us 90 minutes of sheer hard graft.

"There's quality here. It's just a case of being confident, stepping forward and accepting responsibility like a man.

"I think some of the players only realised how important the game was in the aftermath when it's actually happened but you can't be like that.

"We stressed how important the game was beforehand and, for the first 15 minutes, it was like a cup final or a derby game with lots of tackles going in but we shot ourselves in the foot again for the first goal when we lost our shape for a long ball over the top and then Graham (Potter) openly admits that he handled the ball before he got their second and these decisions change results."

The first half goals from City old boys Jon Parkin and Potter mean Macclesfield are level on points with the Minstermen but one place higher because of a superior goal difference.

City still have a game in hand on the Silkmen and Brass stressed the importance of making that advantage pay, while accepting that the relegation battle could now go to the final day of the season.

He said: "It's going to go to the wire because everybody is close together. We have to make sure we keep in control of our own fate because we still have a game in hand.

"You can't sulk and we have to get on with the job in hand. We have got seven massive games now, starting at Cambridge on Friday."

Fit-again quartet Darren Edmondson, Mitch Ward, Christian Fox and Liam George could all come into contention for the Abbey Stadium trip, depending on their performances for the reserves at Scunthorpe on Wednesday.

Midfielder Richard Cooper is expected to be available despite a kick on his calf yesterday and Chris Smith and Leigh Wood may also get recalls after being left out of yesterday's 16-man squad.

Brass said: "Chris Smith and Leigh Wood are both fit but I just felt I needed to change things about. There might be one or two changes again for Cambridge as some people deserve to keep their shirts and some don't."

Teenage right-back Graeme Law staked his claim with a solid display having come on as a half-time substitute to make his City debut and Brass said: "He came in and did not look out of place."

Brass will also decide whether or not to employ the 4-4-2 formation he started yesterday's game with, saying: "Jon Newby came in on the right and had we played it right, I thought it might give us more opportunities to get more balls into the box and more people into the box but it does not matter what formation you play if you don't want it enough."

Updated: 10:40 Monday, April 05, 2004