IMPROVING, yes, but the fact Phil Parkinson’s Wanderers still have a half-finished feel about them so late in pre-season is cause for concern.

There is no question the team looks better organised these days, nor that some of the players who skulked off the pitch at Fulham with heads hung low a few months ago are now regaining their spark.

This, a comfortable 2-0 win right on the manager’s doorstep in York, was ample proof that things are moving in the right direction. Whether they are moving fast enough for Parkinson or the fans’ liking is another matter altogether.

Seemingly, Wanderers still need a right-back, at least one centre-half and winger and – perhaps most crucially – some real pace up front. Quite a shopping list with just 12 days to go before the big kick-off.

A big plus for Parkinson is the fact Mark Davies produced his best show of pre-season to date. He opened the scoring with a great half-volley from Gary Madine’s knock down and generally drove a midfield which has been a little too passive in recent weeks.

Wanderers have played too much football on the halfway line this summer. Keeping possession is all well and good but they have lacked some forward momentum at times. Here at Bootham Crescent there seemed a bit more purpose.

Having the insurance of Jay Spearing and Darren Pratley snapping into tackles, Davies was able to carry the game to the home side. Madine also upped his game in the early stages and his link-up play with Zach Clough bodes well for the future.

Frazer Richardson had also offered good support down the right flank until he was forced off with a knee injury and when Clough also limped off with a hamstring problem the early momentum was lost.

The Minstermen finished bottom of the whole Football League last season and are in a period of massive reconstruction under ex-Celtic man Jackie McNamara. They have picked up a live one in little number 10 Aiden Connolly, though, and his movement around the penalty box suggests he could be one to watch this year.

Wanderers upped the pace again in the second half and should have scored a second though Max Clayton, whose close-range header was pushed away superbly by trial keeper Luke Simpson, once of Oldham Athletic.

Within a few minutes York had a golden chance to draw level. A long ball set Connolly free on the Wanderers goal, forcing Mark Howard to come steaming out of his penalty box to clear. His challenge was clumsy but appeared to be outside the area. Not so in the eyes of referee Ross Joyce.

Howard built up a repertoire of penalty saves during his time at Sheffield United and here produced a beauty, reaching low down to his left to stop Fenwick’s goal-bound effort.

Undeterred by the save or by a raft of substitutions, York created a couple more half-chances, Connolly again at the heart of their best football. But Howard did not have to make any further saves and Parkinson will be happy enough with his side’s defensive shape.

Clayton had struggled to get into the game during the first half but grew more influential as time went on, picking off the scraps around the penalty box from Madine and Jamie Proctor. He went close with a dipping shot just over the crossbar.

Wanderers finally put the game to bed with a penalty of their own.

Proctor, whose selfless running had been a feature of the second half, turned on a ball from Pratley and got dragged down by Matt Fry. He grabbed the ball to take the penalty himself, sending the keeper the wrong way to make it two right in front of the 195 travelling fans.

Danny Collins also came on as a late substitute for Beevers, the 35-year-old former Wales international the latest in a string of defensive trialists we have seen in pre-season so far.

Two more friendlies remain for Parkinson to add some finishing touches to his team but you fear that with time working against him the Wanderers boss will not be completely satisfied with the line-up he hands in against Sheffield United on August 6.

In his own words, Parkinson reckons his squad "lacks some balance" and it would be a shame if he thought the same as July ticked over into August.

Wanderers (4-3-3): Howard; Richardson (Eardley 36), Finney, Beevers (Collins 79), Moxey; Davies (Vela 55), Spearing, Pratley; Clough (Proctor 26), Madine (Samizadeh 70), Clayton (Newell 76).

Subs not used: Amos, Jaaskelainen, Perry, Earing, Lonsdale, Brockbank, Grivosti.