KINGSLEY JAMES has praised York City’s “excellent” defence which has conceded the joint-fewest goals in the division this season.

Newly-promoted York have shipped just six goals from their first eight Vanarama National League matches, with no other fifth-tier side able to boast a better record.

City have kept three clean sheets during that time and have only conceded more than one goal in a single game once, in their 2-1 loss to Maidstone United last month.

“I think defensively, as a team, we’ve been excellent throughout the season,” enthused first-team coach James.

“You’ve always got a chance in any game if, as a team, you’re going to limit the opposition and work as hard as we have as a group.

“The work-rate has been unbelievable from the start of the season. I think the intensity that the boys are playing at is superb.

“The only time it dropped, really, was the Eastleigh game (which York lost 1-0).

“The work-rate was still there, it just lacked the intensity and the bite that we’d had previously.

“We’ve got to keep doing that every single game, because that’s what got us into the position we’re in. We need to keep doing that every single week.”

York’s defence will be altered when they travel to bottom club Scunthorpe United on Saturday (3pm) after centre-back Maxim Kouogun was sent off in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Bromley.

That may mean that Mitch Hancox, who has been deployed as a left wing-back since City’s 1-0 win over Maidenhead United, is returned to midfield, should the Minstermen revert to a back four.

“Mitch is always going to get into those (scoring) positions, even at wing-back, just through his sheer work-rate and desire, he’s always going to create opportunities from whatever position he plays in,” added James.

“He causes people his problems through his runs and the amount that he runs. It has limited him slightly, but that’s the way we’ve needed to go over recent weeks.

“We’ll change throughout the season and we’ll play whatever system suits us in different games. In terms of creating chances, I think we get in unbelievable areas in every game.

“Even against Bromley, I think they created more chances, but we got into positions to create the same amount of chances right throughout the game.

Foot-of-the-table Scunthorpe have endured a nightmare start to life in the National League since relegation from Sky Bet League Two, having won just one of their opening eight games.

“We’ve got on the front foot early on in games, and we need to do that again and put them under a lot of pressure,” insisted James.

“We need to do that again, put them under a lot of pressure and build and sustain it in the final third and keep teams in, which I think we do.

“Defensively we do. Balls come out and Max, Fraser (Kerr), Sam (Sanders) and Dan Pybus, they’re not letting teams out at times.

“We keep them penned in, but it’s when we get in and around the box. We need to be more patient at times and sustain and build the attack.”