With York City's attentions set to be turned away from the league on Tuesday night, and the Isuzu FA Trophy journey scheduled to begin at home to Blyth Spartans, assistant manager Michael Morton faced the media in his first press conference since joining the club.
The Minstermen have seen slightly better form of late, as they ended a freefall period which saw them go nine games winless in the National League. A 2-0 win at in-form side Woking came as quite the surprise and will give them good momentum to build on.
Newly appointed manager David Webb was unexpectedly rushed into hospital with coronavirus days before the Woking fixture, and has been unable to properly carry out his managerial duties, so Morton has stepped in temporarily.
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Initial move
The decision for City to sack John Askey in mid-November was never going to be popular, and the election of Webb and Morton took many fans by surprise. The York-born assistant talked through how the opportunity evolved for him:
"I got a phone call from the gaffer asking if I'd be interested, he had been in and interviewed, and it was literally just a quick week turnaround. I know there had been rumours about certain people coming in, but no-one had ever contacted me."
The Ex-Leeds Youth Development Phase Lead admitted he was close to linking up with one of the Minstermen's National League rivals, revealing, "it was a surprise, I was actually in talks with another club in this league at the time, which I was keen to go in, and get back into this level of football.
"Obviously, when your home city comes calling, it was hard for me to say no. I'm born and bred (in York). I love the city and I love the fans."
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Issue in experience
When David Webb was confirmed as the new York City manager, there were a fair few doubts about his experience.
Boasting previous high-level scouting and talent identification roles at the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, Webb enters his first managerial job, with the North Yorkshire side.
Morton batted away those doubts: "It depends what you define as experience. Similar to myself, it's a different type of experience, but ultimately, we've sort of got experience of dealing with players, and understanding what it looks like to help clubs move forward.
"He's done a lot of his past work working above, and I've done a lot of my work being on the pitch, so I think it's a really good balance."
Style of play was also touched on: "When we first had a chat, it was very close in terms of in line of how we work.
"Obviously, with him working with (Mauricio) Pochettino, and myself having the opportunity to work with Marcelo (Bielsa), it's very similar. But, I think that sort of ties in with York City; I've spent a lot of time being in and around the fans, and I understand that they like front-foot attacking football."
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Looking "Up"
Morton was far from hesitant on his ambitions for the club this season, responding, "Up. Never look down, look up.
"It's a good squad, and we have a really good base to build on. Obviously, John's success last year and the team that he has built, I think they are in a good place, so it's all about building confidence, implementing some subtle little things, and just looking up and seeing where we can get.
"Speaking to the players, and speaking to the gaffer, we feel that we can maybe try and get in and around the playoffs if we can, which would be a great achievement, but ultimately anywhere above mid-table for us."
Good news comes York City's way as David Webb's condition has bettered, being discharged from hospital and stepping up his recovery from home. Despite that, he is hoping to be on the touchline for the first time for the Boxing Day fixture against Gateshead.
Focusing on the game in hand against Blyth in the trophy, his assistant detailed on the Minstermen's opponents: "I know the gaffer (Graham Fenton) quite well, I've had many games against him in the past ten years."
Spartans have struggled down at the bottom of National League North, sitting within the relegation zone at 23rd.
"It's like any Northern team: they are going to be front foot, they like to play football. I'm not sure after watching their games that the league reflects the performances.
"We've just got to focus on us, make sure we do the right stuff, and make sure we get the win."
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Team Selection
Cup competitions like the FA Trophy can sometimes be used to rest key players, and give those who don't usually start some minutes in the tank, for teams concentrating on the league rather than a trip to Wembley.
"I think we have got to see what the squad has got - there has got to be some little changes, and some players as well who are unsure whether they are going to be fully fit.
"At the end of the day, we need to see what the squad is about. What we want to try and do is keep the core in there, and make sure that we are strong for the game."
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Injuries
Not playing in over a week may have benefited York, with more chance for some players to recover from injuries or work their way back to full fitness.
Star winger Maziar Kouhyar has been out with a suspected injury since the departure of former manager Askey, and hasn't appeared since then: "We've not had chance to assess him this week, he's been poorly. Hopefully, once he's got rid of the flu, he'll be in next week, and we'll be able to assess him and give an update on that."
Right-back Ryan Fallowfield also fell victim to injury at the back end of November - Morton provided an update on the 26-year-old.
"Ryan has been back training this week. He's had three good training sessions, looked really sharp, but knows that we can't push him too soon. We were hoping to have him in and around the team for the Blyth game.
"There's a couple who have still got niggly injuries", he added. "There's (Luke) James, who came off last time, and (Alex) Whittle is still struggling a bit."