LEFT-BACK Femi Ilesanmi is planning to play every minute of York City's season.

Along with fellow full-back Marvin McCoy, Ilesanmi is the only Minsterman to have started and completed every fixture this campaign and he intends to preserve that record through to May.

With injured winger Anthony Straker providing the only real alternative to Ilesanmi in his role, the 23-year-old defender's position is uniquely without any current form of competition at Bootham Crescent.

But the ex-QPR reserve reckons his past injury record will mean that does not prove a problem.

On his ever-present ambition, the Southwark-born strongman said: "I'm up for the games every Saturday and, from Monday, I am always making sure that I am preparing right so I am ready for match day,

"I feel I can play every game this season most definitely. I've not had any long-term injuries during my career and, touch wood, I'm hoping I never get any.

"I've been out a couple of times with things like minor ankle injuries for about a fortnight but, hopefully, I won't get any of them either."

Ilesanmi was afforded a rare rest at the weekend when City were without a match due to their early exit from the FA Cup.

The 6ft 1in defender admitted it was hard to watch on as teams booked their place in that competition's magical third round, but he is looking forward to revenge when Cup nemesis Wimbledon, who have knocked the Minstermen out in two of the last three seasons, visit Bootham Crescent for a league clash on Saturday.

"It was difficult to be kicking our heels on Saturday, because we would have had a good chance of getting to the third round," Ilesanmi pointed out. "We knew we would have been capable of beating Wycombe so that's unfortunate, but we've just got to focus on the league now.

"We've also got the chance to get Wimbledon back because it wasn't nice to go out of the Cup, so we've got to make sure we get a result on Saturday now."

City will move just one game short of the club's longest-ever run without a home win if they fail to defeat the Dons at the weekend.

The Minstermen have not won in 12 contests at their North Yorkshire base - a sequence that stretches back to last season.

But Ilesanmi is giving little credence to past results on the team's own soil and focussing solely on reproducing the form that has brought four points from six during the last two matches, which just happened to be on the road.

"I can't put a finger on a reason for our home form this season, but we're not looking at statistics," he insisted. "We've picked up our form over the last couple of weeks and we've just got to keep doing what we've been doing in the last two games because we've been consistent.

"I can't see any reason why we can't pick up three points if that's the case and it's time that we gave the home fans something to cheer about. That's overdue and, hopefully, we will put that right on Saturday."

Ilesanmi has also revealed that he is revelling in Russ Wilcox's commitment to playing keeping the ball on the floor following the ex-Scunthorpe manager's appointment in October.

It has encouraged him to maraud forward with the ball from deep positions and he added: "It was unfortunate to see Nigel Worthington leave but the new manager has come in and wants to play football. That means I can express myself a bit more now and, maybe, that's why my individual performances have improved."

Ilesanmi's eye-catching displays have bagged him The Press Player of the Month awards for October and November, although he was a joint winner of the latest prize with Keith Lowe.

But he was more than happy to enjoy that distinction with last season's The Press Player of the Year, pointing out: "Keith Lowe stood out last month.

"He scored two goals at Hartlepool to really get us out of a tight spot, so I most definitely don't mind sharing the award with him."

With just one clean sheet in nine matches, though, Ilesanmi still feels there is room for improvement at the back.

"Keeping goals out is something we need to work on and I have been at fault for a couple that have gone in recently," he said. "As a team, I think we just need to shut up shop and that's very important as a defender."