FOOTBALL clubs who can spare their pitch could answer an SOS call from York City manager Martin Foyle.

The Minstermen boss has appealed for teams in York to lend his side their surface as they prepare for their FA Trophy quarter-final with Havant and Waterlooville on Saturday.

While the snow and wintry weather has cleared, City’s Wigginton Road training ground is still unusable – and Foyle fears it is hurting his team’s preparation.

With training work on the pitch so important to Foyle’s managerial philosophy, the City boss is hoping he can borrow a suitable surface while Wigginton continues to be out of action.

And he hopes local teams who play on pitches with good drainage could step in and provide a solution.

Foyle said: “Our training pitch is so poor. It is just covered in water and clay. It is not ideal for what I want for the players. We can’t pass the ball around. It is very hard with these facilities because we can’t get any quality.

“I would like to put out an SOS to any local teams that have got a pitch we can borrow. We need a pitch with drainage as our facilities are terrible at the moment.”

City have often found their training regime hit by the quality of their Wigginton Road base, which is almost always out of action when subjected to extremes of weather.

Earlier this month, Foyle revealed his players had been unable to use the surface for several weeks because it was a “washout” – a situation which has not improved.

And, although the Minstermen have been able to use the third generation pitch at PlayFootball in Clifton Moor, an artificial surface is not ideal.

Havant and Waterlooville’s 2-0 win over Crawley on Monday night sets the scene for a KitKat Crescent rematch of their FA Cup first round clash with York in November 2007.

Then, the Minstermen were shocked with a 1-0 defeat as Havant progressed to dump out Notts County and Swansea before leading twice at Anfield en route to eventually losing 5-2 against Liverpool in the fourth round.

Any clubs with a pitch that could fit the bill should phone York City on 01904 624447.