YORK City legend Dave McGurk is backing the Minstermen to achieve their goal of promotion back to the Football League.

Adam Hinshelwood’s York side learned of their Vanarama National League play-off semi-final opponents last night, with Oldham Athletic crushing FC Halifax Town 4-0 to book their spot at the LNER Community Stadium next Tuesday, May 20 (7.45pm).

City have already confirmed that their home allocation for the semi-final is sold out, with stalwart McGurk one of over 7,000 set to cram into the LNER Community Stadium.

McGurk is backing the Minstermen in their push for a return to the Football League, telling the Press: “I want to wish them all good luck! I’ve still got affiliation with the club and I’m coming to the semi-final, and I would be going to Wembley as well.

“My kids, my little girl in particular, has always wanted to go to Wembley, so I’ve got it pencilled in for the first of June.

“I’m hoping that they do get there!

“It’s not advice, but just go and play your normal game, because they have been by far and away, the strongest team in the remaining teams that are there.

“I don’t doubt that they will get the job done, both times.

“I think that they will get to Wembley and that they will win it – the whole City, everyone who has watched them play, has got full confidence in them.

“I’m sure that we will see the club deservedly, not just from this season but as a football club, be in League Two next season.”

McGurk made over 300 appearances for York during his playing career, experiencing the joy of playing at Wembley Stadium in multiple finals.

His first for City came in the Isuzu FA Trophy final in 2009, when the Minstermen sadly lost out to Stevenage at Wembley Stadium.

He then returned in 2012 for an incredible season with York, in which City won both the play-off final and the FA Trophy at Wembley, in the space of a week under Gary Mills.

York City icon Dave McGurk spoke on the Minstermen’s upcoming play-off campaign. (Image: Archive)McGurk has therefore experienced both the highs and lows of the play-offs with York, but having watched this current City team throughout the season, is confident that they have what it takes to go all of the way.

“I’ve seen them twice live at home and I’ve watched a couple of the games away, the manager certainly seems to have implemented a strong attacking philosophy,” McGurk continued.

“I enjoyed watching them, and you can see that too with the crowds.

“The results used to always dictate what the crowds would be, but I think that the manager has instilled a type of football that people enjoy watching as well.

“It’s probably why the chairman went for him, he wanted that type of football and in his previous job, his team was scoring goals for fun.

“He’s brought that into York and that’s only good for the fans, because if you go and watch them then you know you’re going to be watching entertaining football.

“You don’t realise how many fans are out there, but once you do start to get that success, you realise what a big club York is.

“It’s actually way above that, and with the new stadium in particular, you are finding a new generation of fans.

“I was a little bit sceptical about leaving Bootham [Crescent, York City’s old stadium] because of all of the history, but after visiting the new stadium, I couldn’t believe how many kids were in there.

“It’s just a different experience compared to the old York ground.

“I think that we’re starting to see the size of the club and the potential of the club with the chairman there backing the manager, and I don’t think that League Two could be the limit, I think it could be the next level up.

“It’s just such a hard league to get out of and they’ve got the perfect opportunity now, so hopefully they can do it after a home semi-final that will give them the chance to go to Wembley.

“They’ve been the second best team in the league, but by quite some distance over the teams below them.

“I think we’re seeing now in the play-offs, teams like Sheffield United and Sunderland for example, they were well clear of the teams below them in the Championship and it’s going to be those two teams going to Wembley.

“Hopefully that trend follows, because it’s slightly unfair having just one team go up and it’s not fair, it should be the same as the leagues above them.

“Unfortunately they’ve got to do it this way, but there’s no better way of going up.”

York will first welcome Oldham next Tuesday at the LNER Community Stadium, with the winner of that one-off match heading to Wembley on Sunday, June 1 (3pm) for the play-off final.

One of York or Oldham will challenge one of Forest Green Rovers, Rochdale or Southend United in the capital, with one team returning to the Football League alongside champions Barnet.

City’s match against Oldham has been boosted by Hinshelwood’s side ending their normal National League season in second place, confirming a home tie in the semi-final.

McGurk believes that could prove crucial in any success York are to have, explaining: “I went to watch it when they got promoted against Boston, and I just felt that it was a formality from the first minute because of the home advantage.

“I didn’t feel at any point that the away team stood a chance, because of the energy about them [home fans].

“When it is full and rocking, and the fans are right behind the team, I think that it is a huge advantage.

“They are playing a team that finished a great number of points behind them and they have got the home advantage.

“One of the games I did watch was the Halifax game, even at 2-0 down, you felt like they would get back into the game.

“The only thing at the time that I thought was letting York down was the pitch, it was a little bit bobbly for their attacking play.

Dave McGurk (left) has experience of playing in the play-offs under former manager Gary Mills (right). (Image: Archive)“With the weather turning, I’m sure that the pitch will be in perfect condition which should help them to get the ball down and play their football.

“The home advantage is ideal for them, and if they do get to Wembley, the pitch will be in a perfect condition.”

Wembley would no doubt prove to be the pinnacle of York’s season, with it potentially being the first time that City will have travelled there since their FA Trophy win in 2017.

With his experience of Wembley, McGurk explained what goes on inside a player’s mind when playing at the stadium, admitting that the prospect of playing there would be a ‘huge carrot’ for the current squad of players.

“I’d imagine a lot of them have never played there, and I don’t know what a lot of their thoughts are, but for me, as a kid, I was desperate to play at Wembley,” McGurk detailed.

“It’s a huge carrot at the end of it, and if it comes to it, it won’t be about the occasion but the game of football that they have to win.

“It is something that you dream of doing and it’s something they will tell their kids, that they have played there.

“Win or lose, but winning is so much more special, because everyone says that it is the worst place to lose but the best place to win.

“Even now I look back, I lost twice there and still made special memories, but to winning there is just another level.

“With it being at Wembley is just a whole other attraction.

“It’s the occasion, the pressure of the occasion, but you’ve got to treat it as if it is just another game.

“If it was just another game then you would fully expect them to win, but you don’t know how players are going to react to the occasion.

“I’m sure the manager will be drilling it into them to just go and play their normal game.

“What I do like about this team, it does look like a team with no fear.

“They don’t change their game for anybody else, they go out and attack the game, and I think that can help them.

“The finals where we played, we lost one where we were probably more of the defensive side and let the opposition take the game to us.

“The game we won, we were the attacking side and didn’t really fear anyone.

“When it comes to those one-off games, you’ve got to score goals to win it as you don’t want it to go to extra time and penalties, where it’s a bit more of a luck factor.

“York might be the second best team in the league, but they are the best team in those play-offs and you don’t want to be relying on luck, you want to be relying on what their actual skill sets are.

“They just need to play their game because they deserve to be promoted, and if they play their normal game, I’m sure that they will be.”

McGurk has since retired from playing football, but remains well within the game, working alongside former York manager Mikey Morton in a business titled Tactx, which can be found HERE.

The business offers an online coaching business which has helped Premier League clubs, Major League Soccer teams and even Jamie Carragher for his Monday Night Football segments.

Dave McGurk now works closely with former York City manager Mikey Morton on a coaching business. (Image: Tom Poole)McGurk explained what he has been up to since his retirement from playing, saying: “I’ve set up an online coaching business which I have done with Michael Morton, the former York manager, which is a subscription service that has been going around for eight months now.

“It’s been going really well and other opportunities have come from that as well.

“We have done some work with Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football, they reached out to us to do some tactical work to support him.

“We’ve also worked with an MLS team, who asked us to do some consultancy work on set-pieces.

“That’s just from the content that we’ve put out, they have recognised it and got in touch.

“The crux of the business is thousands of coaching practices that anyone at any level can come on and use.

“We’ve got Mikey’s experience in developing players, he’s worked with Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Archie Gray and you’ll see Harry Gray coming through – that gives us the avenue to do the grassroots side of it.

“We’ve both worked in professional environments so we know what professional coaches are looking for.

“We’ve got some big names who have subscribed, some set-piece coaches at a Premier League level who are on the website.

“It works from the bottom end of coaches, all the way to the top, and we’re hoping that in three or four years time, it will provide us with an income for our business to expand it into a consultancy and different analysis pieces that are going around on TV.

“It’s all going well at the moment and it’s something we work on pretty much every day.”