YORK City manager Gary Mills does not want to kick off the 2011/2 campaign with a senior squad of more than 19 players.

The City chief already has 11 players under contract for next season in Andre Boucaud, Jamal Fyfield, Michael Ingham, Scott Kerr, David McGurk, James Meredith, Daniel Parslow, George Purcell, Jamie Reed, Chris Smith and Jonathan Smith.

That means he could bring in as many as eight new faces over the summer but is unlikely to add any more.

Mills said: “As I’ve stated before, I don’t like running with big squads and would prefer one that is smaller than last season. That can have its pitfalls obviously, but I feel there are more positives than negatives.

“I believe a smaller squad is better all round for team spirit and togetherness. The down side is that it can create problems if you pick up injuries or suspensions, but then we need to know that the opportunity is there to use the loan market.

“I’d like to start next season with 18 or 19 senior players. When I came here, there were about 24 players and, at the back end of the season, we were operating with 21 or 22 and I felt that was too many.

“How many new players we will bring in will depend on what’s out there and whether they are better than the ones who are out of contract here, so it could be one or it could be six, seven or eight.

“I’ve spoken to two or three players who I would love to bring to the football club. It’s early days but I’m positive that I can tie one of them up this week.”

Mills also admitted his main priority was to strengthen his options at the top end of the pitch.

City, who finished eighth in the Blue Square Bet Premier, boasted the seventh-best defensive record in the division but were the sixth-lowest goal scorers.

Mills said: “We all know we were solid defensively last season. Liam Darville came in and did well at right-back but, because of our strength in defence, he’s in that category of nine players that I’m still thinking about. The midfield did not score enough times though and, the way I like to play, I need more goals from that area of the pitch.

“In terms of strikers, you are always looking for players that can get you 20-goals plus and that will never change. We created enough chances to score a lot more times.”