GARY ELPHICK is keen to avoid allowing any complacency to crawl into the York City camp as they head to Biggleswade FC tomorrow afternoon.

York begin their Emirates FA Cup journey with a trip to Biggleswade FC (3pm), with City welcoming a first-ever match against the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition.

Biggleswade have defeated Basildon United, Dunstable and Canvey Island to reach this stage of the competition, which is their highest-ever recorded.

Elphick is eager for York to avoid any potential complacency in his squad against lower league opposition, and is expecting a Biggleswade side that will be desperate to make an impression against their Vanarama National League counterparts.

“For me it’s all about what’s going on between your ears and making sure that your mind is focused, to get the job done,” Elphick explained.

“It’s one game from potentially a life changing experience, that’s the way that you have got to view it.

“There can’t be any doubt, we’ve got to go through everything thoroughly and make sure that we are well prepared.

“They’ll put it on us, they’ll see us as big time Charlie’s or whatever, big time York, coming down there.

“That’s what we’ve got to be up against and overcome.

“You see with these shock results, they happen.

“Something that we pride ourselves with at this football club is that in each training session, you train as if it is your last.

“Adam [Hinshelwood, manager] demands high standards, so if you come and watch us train day in, day out, you’ll know that if you’re not up to standards then you will be quickly forgotten about.


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“We have to come to the table again and mean business.”

Elphick confirmed that York won’t look to rotate heavily against Biggleswade, who play at the same level as Tadcaster Albion and Pickering Town, whilst ensuring that all the correct preparation is done.

Biggleswade groundshare with Bedford Town currently, who own an artificial surface, which has been considered by Elphick and the City coaching staff.

Elphick detailed: “We’ll start strong, we go there to mean business and can’t underestimate the opposition.

“We know that it is a potential banana skin for us on a 3G surface as well. We go there to go about our business, as we usually do.

“We’ll probably start strong, there may be some different personnel included, but we want to go strong.

“I think you’ve got to prepare correctly, we will speak to our SEC coaches and physios and get the best advice possible.

“That has to come into play when selecting the team.

“I think there’s tweaks that you can look at 100 per cent that might come into fruition during the game.

“There is obviously the goal scoring record at the moment that everyone is mentioning, it’s something that us coaching staff have to solve, and the players themselves.

“I think that we had 35 touches in the penalty box against Woking, which is a hell of a lot of touches.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalise on it, so that’s one thing we do have to look at as coaches.

“Sometimes you just need one to go in off their backside, a bit of the rub of the green, and I’m sure it will come.

“The Dipo’s and Ollie Pearce’s, if they can hit one or two against their opposition at the weekend then that’s what strikers need to get them firing.”

Elphick also spoke on the potential stage that City could reach if they were to beat Biggleswade, in the Emirates FA Cup first round where EFL sides enter the competition.

The York assistant manager has therefore done similar scouting work as to watch the club would do to face a National League side, as to avoid any potential cup shocks to the lowest ranked side.

“It’s a huge game, you win this one game and you know what it is going to lead onto.

“We’d hate to think that we have gone in there half tilt, and let them have a shock win.

"We need to go there, as we always do, well prepared and thorough with it.

“We’ve had scouts watching them, we know that they lost their last league game but had won three on the bounce prior to that.

“The 3G surface, we’ve looked at their formation and their set-plays, so we have done our homework.

“We would be stupid not to, so we know what they are about.”