Former Hartlepool United duo prepare for first match in charge of York City

And the former defender, who left Pools in 2017, will be assisted by Minstermen strength and conditioning coach Stuart Parnaby.

Collins was handed the reins on Monday when former Darlington boss Martin Gray, linked with the Pools vacancy in the summer, was relieved of his duties.

He will take charge of the club for the first time tomorrow when York travel to Brackley Town, followed swiftly by a clash with Blyth Spartans on Bank Holiday Monday.

Ahead of his dugout debut, Collins told the club's official website: "Every player starts again with a clean slate.

"It is a fresh start and it doesn’t matter how they have done in the past. That’s gone. They all have an opportunity to play this weekend and I am looking for them to impress in training and show me that they deserve to play.

"There are two or three younger players who have done really well over the last five or six weeks and they have trained with the first team squad this week and more than held their own.I don’t care whether they are 16 or 36 – if they are good enough, they will play. I am not afraid to put them in, if I think it is the right thing to do."

Collins had caretaker spells in charge of Pools on three separate occasions - in 2014 twice, after the sacking of first Colin Cooper then Paul Murray, and also in 2017, alongside current manager Matthew Bates and former player Billy Paynter.

Parnaby was a player at Pools at the end of his career in 2014/15, and then became the club's pre-rehabilitation and conditioning coach. He left his role in July 2017.