York City skipper Darren Edmondson is urging his midfield team-mates to push forward as City aim for the ultimate goal of a play-off place.

City have scored just 26 goals in the League so far this season - the joint fourth worst in the entire division.

But only eight of those goals have come from anywhere other than the forwards - with just five from the midfield.

Edmondson said: "It's a problem we are all aware of and I don't think it is much to do with the forwards. Lee Bullock's been playing up front and getting a few and Nogs (Lee Nogan) has chipped in but as you go further back into the midfield and then the defence, they dry up.

"Even the central defenders from set pieces - the delivery's been really good and we haven't scored many at all from that sort of situation. Likewise from the midfield.

"It's something that is a weight on our minds and we are trying desperately to remedy."

He continued: "It does weigh on your mind, especially as a wing-back when you are responsible for making goals as well as scoring them.

"But we have all got to get forward a bit more and have a go, because if you don't shoot, you don't score."

The 32-year-old wing-back has hit the back of the net once so far this season with a sweet chip over the Leyton Orient goalkeeper, and is aiming to go four better by the end of the campaign.

"Even if I wasn't captain I would still be encouraging others and urging them to get forward," he added.

"Everybody knows you set yourselves a target every year and I presume that most of us will be short come the end of the season.

"I got five last year and it would be nice to get that again this season because that would probably be a reasonable target to aim for and maybe I will succeed."

Saturday could show the situation in its most extreme light when City travel to free-scoring neighbours Hull.

The Tigers are riding high at the top of the league with a +31 goal difference and a goals-for tally of 57 - an average of nearly two a game compared to City's 0.89 goals a game average.

But despite the economic scoring ratio, Edmondson is confident York will be up in the play-offs come the end of the season.

He said: "We are aware of a shortage of goals but obviously, we aren't conceding too many either. We are up there where we are in the league because we are a tight team.

"There's still a lot of games, so I think we can turn it round and I don't see why we can't finish in the play-offs.

"There's always a team that seems to put a run on that comes from mid-table.

"We are only six points off that seventh place and we have been there or thereabouts all season, so I don't see why we can't be that team. We are confident we can make it."

Updated: 10:58 Tuesday, February 03, 2004