YORK City manager Gary Mills believes Jason Walker’s free-scoring pre-season form has already highlighted the reasons for bringing him to Bootham Crescent.

The Minstermen paid Luton Town £60,000 to secure the former Barrow striker’s services last month as Mills looked to bolster his attacking options ahead of the new season.

Walker has responded with four goals in City’s opening five friendlies – his latest, during Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Grantham following other efforts against Tadcaster, Garforth and Quorn, leading Mills to comment: “His goal at Grantham was another great finish.

“He was very lively in the half-hour he was on the pitch and had a couple of other chances as well. He made some great runs and perhaps one or two were too good for the linesman.

“I brought Jason Walker in to score us goals and I’m not going to grumble with four in nearly as many games.”

Walker was joined on the scoresheet at Grantham by Adriano Moké, who claimed his second pre-season goal.

The City boss also praised the former Glenn Hoddle Academy student for his contribution on Tuesday night, saying: “I thought Adriano did well.

“He’s coming into competitive football for the first time in his career and people are seeing what a good player he is. He glides over the grass and has vision, two good feet and the ability to stick a shot in the top corner, as he did on Tuesday night.

“I thought he was excellent in midfield, along with Michael Potts who was the best he’s been since coming here.”

Mills ended Tuesday night’s match with Moké and Potts playing alongside Patrick McLaughlin in City’s three-man midfield.

All three players are yet to make their professional debuts in senior English football but Mills believes the trio are making encouraging progress.

He said: “I think they’re all doing well.

“We’ve got a good mixture and they are all getting to know each other. Their age doesn’t overly worry me because they are good players and we will be working hard with them on the mental side of what it takes to win games.

“Good players shouldn’t be disregarded. You’ve got to give them that opportunity to play the game and none of them have disappointed me so far.”

City return home from their Oakham School training base today with Mills hailing the five-day trip as a success.

He said: “We are nearly half-way through pre-season and it’s going well. I don’t think we could have chosen a better place to stay and we’ve had two wins, a pleasing clean sheet on Tuesday night and a few goals.”