YORK City player-boss Chris Brass is urging his players to be fearless at Scunthorpe United tomorrow.
City have a miserable record at Glanford Park, having not tasted victory on Iron soil in more than a decade. To make matters worse, City have not won on the road since August.
However, after Tuesday night's morale-boosting performance in the 2-2 draw with Oxford United, Brass is sensing City are returning to their best form.
"You could see the confidence levels were a lot higher again and back to where we want them to be," said the City player-chief.
"We want the players to approach every game without any fear.
"They did it on Tuesday and we want more of the same tomorrow.
"We need to get our away form back to as it was at the start of the season.
"At home, we are going to be a difficult team to beat.
"Away from home we just have to be a little bit cuter and certainly not fear the game because the onus is on the home side."
While City's record at Glanford Park gives little cause for optimism, the home of The Iron holds no fear for Brass.
The City player-chief sealed promotion to Division One with Burnley at Scunthorpe on the last day of the 1999-2000 season thanks to a 2-0 win.
"We had to be on top of our game to get a result that day and I'm sure we will have to be tomorrow," said Brass.
"But we are very confident and very positive as we approach the game and that's how we need to approach any game."
City have named an unchanged squad from that which drew with Oxford in midweek with one exception.
Club captain Darren Edmondson has been included after being ruled out for the previous two months with a calf strain.
It is unlikely Edmondson will start the game though and will more likely have to settle for a place on the bench.
Tomorrow's game marks the last of Dean Crowe's one-month loan deal from Luton Town.
Player-boss Brass has yet to decide whether to extend Crowe's stay at Bootham Crescent.
However, Crowe has not scored since joining from Kenilworth Road and was not even named among the substitutes on Tuesday for the match with Oxford which suggests he could well be heading back south after the weekend.
Updated: 10:59 Friday, October 24, 2003
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