YORK City new boss Steve Watson is hoping to have “two or three” new faces for next weekend’s home match against National League North leaders Chorley.

The former Gateshead manager’s Minstermen reign started with a 3-1 defeat at title-chasing Stockport County and, one week into the job, he has now identified areas he feels need strengthening in the squad.

Watson will speak to on-loan Harrogate Town midfielder Liam Agnew about his Bootham Crescent future on Monday following the end of his one-month stay and, after the returns of Alex Bray, Kennedy Digie, Joe Davis and Joe Ironside to their parent clubs, there is scope to bolster the ranks with further temporary additions.

Home attacker Matty Warburton hit a hat-trick for Stockport, completing his treble just seconds after Alex Kempster had reduced the deficit on 74 minutes and, following an eighth straight league loss on the road, Watson confessed: “It’s going to be a work in progress, and I was under no illusions that this wasn’t going to be a very difficult task.

“We’re just starting a long journey, but this season is still open for much more improvement. I need to see more of the players in different scenarios, but also look at the loan window because, if Liam Agnew goes back, we will have five bodies less than we had two weeks ago.

“I pretty much know what I want, but other clubs are obviously involved when you’re looking to get people in place. I am 99 per cent sure, though, that by next Saturday we should see two or three more faces.”

Watson described Warburton’s third goal, which was netted almost straight from the restart following Kempster’s reply, as probably the worst a side he has managed has ever conceded, declaring: “It was unforgivable - it really was.

“We scored a great goal against a good team and, when you get back to 2-1, a bit of doubt can set in with the opposition, but we didn’t give them a chance to feel that, because we were far too weak from the kick-off. It was one of the worst goals I’ve been involved in since I started managing.”

The manner of Stockport’s opening goal also disappointed Watson as home players won three aerial balls from a corner before Warburton crashed a ten-yard volley into the roof of the net.

Insisting the key to improving set-play defending lies in greater matchday focus, rather than hours of training-ground drills, Watson added: “The first goal wasn’t even really about the first ball into the box, it was about winning the second and the third as well, but it doesn’t matter how hard you work on the training field if people knock off.

“Every footballer has the ability to mark a man and you could work on that all week in training, but you’re just marking your mates anyway. There are also a lot of teams in this league and the one above that play for set-plays and work tirelessly on putting balls in on top of the keeper, so the first thing you have to do is not give silly free kicks away.

“Then, it’s about individuals not losing their man and focussing, rather than ball-watching.”

But Watson was encouraged by patches of play and argued that eradicating individual lapses and tackling fragile morale could prove significant factors in reversing the club’s fortunes.

“It was always going to be tough coming to a team on the up, but there wasn’t a great deal in the first half,” he reasoned. “Barts (Adam Bartlett) hardly made a save and neither did their keeper, although Kemps (Kempster) had a very good chance to make it 1-1.

“The second goal was a deflection and, then, we were much more on the front foot in the second half. You can see when the players enjoy a decent amount of possession, they start to puff their chests out a bit and make forward passes but, when they have a negative spell or a setback, too many heads drop and that’s one of the main things I will have to try and address.

“Being a footballer is an unbelievable job and you should embrace that every day but, at the moment, some players don’t look like they are enjoying it. It’s my job to get smiles on their faces and, with that, I’m sure the performances will follow.

“The game boiled down to a goal from a corner, another that was deflected and the last one straight from the kick-off so, from actual open play, they didn’t tear us apart. They didn’t really get through the defence too often and the shape wasn’t too bad, but mistakes and a lack of confidence were the main reasons for the result.”

Kempster scored his second goal of the season following his effort on loan for Spennymoor last month and Watson was pleased with his contribution, saying: “Kemps kept going and was energetic. Jordan (Burrow) kept going as well but, as a striker, you want to see more attempts on goal from him.”