Crestfallen Darren Patterson issued a heartfelt rallying call to the Bootham Crescent faithful in the aftermath of York City's 4-0 drubbing at Scunthorpe United.

"We have to apologise to the fans again because they were magnificent again, they came in their numbers to support us," said Patterson, a second-half substitute at Glanford Park.

"They have been a different class since I have been here to be fair and they have just got to stay with us, keep getting behind us and we have got to turn it around as simple as that."

The defeat, City's seventh in eight games, leaves the Minstermen just one point clear of Division Three bottom-club Exeter City.

Significantly, the Grecians, who fought out a goalless draw at home to Macclesfield on Saturday, will be City's next opponents when they visit Bootham Crescent this weekend.

Patterson admitted: "We need absolutely everybody. It is all hands on deck and hopefully we can get the right result."

After dominating the early stages on Saturday, City fell behind to a Guy Ipoua goal against the run of play before Scunthorpe sealed their win with three goals inside 15 second-half minutes.

"It has been the same story for the last two months that I have been here," lamented Patterson.

"We have had a good percentage of most games but we need to score goals.

"Goals change games and once we start scoring goals the confidence will build. You can see as soon as the first goal goes in the lads heads go down."

City manager Terry Dolan admitted there is no escaping the significance of Saturday's visit of Exeter.

"As each game goes by it makes the next game that more important," he said.

"We have got to be right for this one and I am sure the players will be right for it by the time we get to Saturday."

The City chief, who will have new signing Lee Nogan available for the Exeter tie, believes if City could only get their noses in front then victories will follow.

"It has got to a situation where if we don't take the lead then it is backs to the wall," he conceded.

"We had the early chances and as we keep saying week in, week-out, if those early chances go in they can change the game.

"It finished 4-0 and we are disappointed that we haven't created as much as we could have done with the possession that we had.

"The answer is to go a goal up and see what the difference will be then.

"It is frustrating for everybody because we have lost 4-0 and everybody will think that it was bad performance when it parts it wasn't.

"But we haven't scored and they have scored four and that tells the story."

Updated: 10:30 Monday, February 12, 2001