YORK City boss Russ Wilcox believes the memory of his former team-mate David Longhurst should be recognised at the club's new community stadium.

Tuesday will mark the 25th-year anniversary of Longhurst's tragic death on the Bootham Crescent pitch during the abandoned match against Lincoln City on September 8, 1990.

It was later confirmed that the 25-year-old striker had passed away due to a previously-undetected heart defect and the Minstermen went on to pay their respects by naming the Shipton Street home end after him.

Just two years earlier, Longhurst and Wilcox had shared a dressing room together as Northampton Town team-mates during the 1987/88 season and the City chief is hoping his old friend will now be remembered when the club relocate to Monks Cross in 2017.

He said: "For David to die at such a young age on a football pitch was an absolute tragedy and I’d like to see a stand named after him at the new ground as well, because I feel it is important we take that memory forward with us. Thankfully, what happened to him does not happen that often, but it needs to be remembered."

Wilcox has also stressed the importance of modern-day heart screening in the game as a legacy of what happened to Longhurst a quarter-of-a-century ago, revealing that it even flagged up a potential problem in his own squad as recently as a month ago.

He added: "As players, we had no screening back in 1990. I can’t even remember having a medical at Northampton and, at Preston, it was just a case of lying on a bed and being asked how many games I’d played that season.

"I replied 35 and they said that’s fine. It’s important that’s changed now.

"We actually found out that Taron Hare’s heart is a little bigger than normal. It’s not an issue but it’s great that it’s been checked out."