Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against veteran Maidenhead boss Alan Devonshire

Devonshire, a former England international who won the FA Cup with West Ham in 1980, has been in charge of Maidenhead for a combined 19 years across two spells. His longevity rivals even former Pools manager Lennie Lawrence, although Devonshire still has some way to go before he can compete with the 77-year-old's experience.

This weekend's game, then, between a Pools side who still harbour hopes of sneaking into the play-offs and a Magpies team who are fighting for their life at the wrong end of the National League table, represents an interesting clash between two coaches at opposite ends of their careers. Devonshire's final two England caps, European Championship qualifiers against Greece and Luxembourg, were in 1983, the same year as Limbrick was born. The Pools head coach was just 13 when Devonshire first took charge of Maidenhead. Since the veteran was appointed Magpies boss for a second time in May 2015, Pools have had 16 different permanent managers as well as eight caretakers.

And Limbrick, who is hoping to be the man to provide some much-needed stability in the Pools dugout, admits he is relishing the prospect of coming up against one of English football's most colourful, experienced and distinguished characters on Saturday.

"He's done amazingly well there," Limbrick said.

"To be the manager at one club for so long is incredible. He was the manager there when I was in charge of Woking. He clearly understands players, knows how to take care of teams and is a very good man-manager. I know some of the players there, and of course Manny Onariase is there on loan, and they all speak very highly of him.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him again, I've got a huge amount of respect for him. If I can have as many games as he's managed, then I'll be very, very happy. He's a very good manager."