Pools begin their pre-season tour of Scotland against Greenock Morton tonight (kick-off 7.30pm), with a busy week of warm-up games ahead of them.



Wilson's side travel to Falkirk on Thursday, before a clash with Newcastle United on Saturday and a trip to Northern League side Consett the following Tuesday.

But Wilson, who has a full squad to pick from for tonight's game, said it would be highly unlikely that anyone will play the full 90 minutes in a match and every player will get at least 45 minutes on the pitch.

"We are going to give everybody a bit of football which they will need," said Wilson.

"It is just a matter of getting everyone onto the pitch for a minimum of 45 minutes. There will be nobody playing 90 minutes so it won't be that much of a burden for them.

"We don't want to be over-working them at this time."

Central midfield is likely to receive the greatest degree of scrutiny over the next few days, with seven players vying for a starting place come the opening game against Colchester United on August 9.

Two of those players, new signings Ritchie Jones and Alan Power, are expected to play some part in tonight's game, along with former Newcastle United goalkeeper Mark Cook who agreed a deal with Pools on Friday.

Wilson revealed he will tinker with his tactics over the next few days and said the tour is likely to be beneficial in terms of team bonding for the new signings.

He said: "There are a couple of things we want to look at to see how we are going to set ourselves up.

"There will be certain people in certain positions and we will see how they respond.

"There is a lot of competition in central midfield particularly, which is very good. I wish I had that in every position.

"It is important that whoever gets the nod and the shirt has to play at their maximum every week."

Wilson added: "This time of season is always important to get people back together again.

"The new lads will just get into the swing of things very quickly.
"Our lads are brilliant and every new boy is made to feel very welcome. I don't think they will have any problems."

Meanwhile, Wilson confirmed that Pools have not registered a bid with Leeds United for striker Anthony Elding.

Leeds boss Gary McAllister revealed last week that an unnamed club had submitted a bid for the 26-year-old, but the offer hasn't originated from Victoria Park.