Sam's the man at York City

Stuart Parnaby, who also joined the club in the summer, has been appointed assistant-manager

Picture by Ian Appleyard

Sam Collins has expressed his delight after being appointed manager of York City on a permanent basis.

Collins, who joined the club as youth team manager in the summer, took over as interim manager on August 20 and has been in charge for the last eight games.

Stuart Parnaby, who also joined the club in the summer, has been appointed assistant-manager on a permanent basis.

"I am absolutely delighted," said Collins. "It is an opportunity to take this club forward and try to improve everything further.

A move into football management has been my ambition for a long time. I have served my apprenticeship, I have done my homework, and the time is right now to give it a real good go.

I have always had plans for what I would do if I got the job on a permanent basis and now we can start to put those plans in place," he said.

We have introduced new ideas already but now we can really stamp our identity - not just on the team but also on the club as a whole.

This is a great club with fantastic infrastructure but there is always room for improvement," he added. "The target now is to win as many games as possible and see where it takes us.

"We all want success this season and now we have to keep working hard as staff and players. Hopefully that will take us where we want to go."

Collins' first game in permanent charge is away at Southport on Saturday in MANarama National League North.