SHOULD York City Knights be successful in their bid to join Super League, wholesale changes will not be on the agenda, says head coach James Ford.

Rather, in order to make the side competitive, it would be a case of making a few additions to what has proved to be a strong squad.

The Knights submitted their application to fill the 12th Super League spot on Monday.

On the books for 2021 are long-serving performers like Tim Spears and Will Jubb, as well as recent recruits with Super League prestige such as Adam Cuthbertson, Ryan Atkins and Kieran Dixon.

For any team looking to recruit, Ford believes the ground is fertile.

“We’d be in the same boat as every other team that is applying,” he said. “We have put a side together to win the Championship. Within that, we have players I believe are Super League-ready, and have shown that. We would need to supplement what we’ve got to increase our chances of being competitive.

“There hasn’t been a better time time for a team to come out of the Championship in and be competitive in terms of player availability.

“There’s no NRL Reserves next year. Super League clubs have suffered financially playing behind closed doors and may be looking to move on one or two players.

“There are players available from the Toronto squad, and there is no Super League Reserves so clubs will be looking to find the very talented young players looking to claim a place to play more consistently.

“The players are out there. The club that wins the application process just needs to get that right.

“Having said that, we don’t need to sign too many players because we’ve got a very, very good squad as it is.”