Steve Watson calls on York City to "create, be bold and positive" against Darlington

The Minstermen boss is an admirer of opposite number Alun Armstrong and his brand of "attack-minded" football, and he reiterated the importance of York being strong at the back.

But being on home turf, Watson also wants an attack to match.

In previous matches at Bootham Crescent, York have been accused of letting the opposition dictate the tempo, when the expectation is often the opposite, and Watson is hopeful the front-foot approach will bring dividends.

"They're a forward-thinking team," he said of the Quakers. "They're attack-minded, they're football-based, they're not route-one. They're probably more like King's Lynn and Chester than other teams in this league.

"We just have to be diligent and solid at the back.

"But the emphasis this week, at home, is create, attack, be bold and be positive.

"By doing that, hopefully that will bring us the three points."

Over their week's break from action, City's management duo of Watson and Micky Cummins were aiming to get some games watched, including that of Darlington at Solihull Moors.

Watson says this did not end up happening, but he is not overly concerned.

He and Armstrong are no strangers to each other - nor are they unfamiliar with each other's playing staff.

Both hail from banks of the River Tyne - Armstrong from Gateshead and Watson from North Shields - and both have plenty of recruits from the North East, Darlington's most recent permanent acquisition being Sean Reid from Morpeth Town.

Watson said: "It was only the one game, which might not have told us that much. He might not have played anything like the team he's going to play on Saturday.

"We know enough collectively about Darlo. We've obviously played them, we've watched opposition games at Darlington, and you keep an eye on what Darlington are doing as well.

"They've just brought in another midfielder this week who me and Micky both know. He's quite well-known in the North East football scene because he's been at Morpeth.

"Me and the Darlo manager go back a long way," he added. "We were at Newcastle together as kids, both came through roughly at the same time.

"He's a great fella and I like the way he tries to play football.

"He'll know plenty about a lot of our lads because there's a lot of them from North East teams. Ferguson, Griffiths, Tait, he'll know plenty about those guys. Kieran Green, he had him last season at Blyth, and he'll know a lot about Dan if he's involved, and Pete the goalkeeper.

"It's one thing knowing everything about a team - it's another thing trying to beat them.

"We'll know enough about each other, but the best team on Saturday will win the game."

Since the sides last met in the middle of September - when York came away with a 2-0 win - Darlington have picked up somewhat, rising from 17th to 12th in National League North.

Summer signing from Morecambe Adam Campbell remains among the Quakers' top scorers with six but has been overtaken by Tyrone O'Neill's seven in all competitions. Justin Donawa - who has made the vast majority of his appearances off the bench - also has six goals, including the second in Darlo's recent 2-0 win over Chester. Will Hatfield netted his first of the season in Saturday's 2-2 FA Trophy draw at Solihull Moors.

Darlington have one of the most pronounced differences between their home and away performances in the division. On average, they take 1.82 points per game at home and just 0.5 away.