PAUL MARSHALL believes veteran Denny Ingram could still play for another two years.

The 38-year-old defender, who played more than 200 times in the Football League for Hartlepool, has teamed up with his old Tadcaster Albion colleague after being named the new assistant manager of Pickering Town.

Marshall, who ascended to the Pikes hot seat after Tony Hackworth stepped down, has moved quickly to appoint his right hand man and has indicated other new faces could soon be on the way.

"He's a vastly experienced player," he said of Ingram. "He played professionally for Hartlepool, Scarborough and Halifax. We took him from Scarborough two years ago and he has had two excellent years at Tadcaster Albion.

"He has got the winning mentality we need to instil at Pickering. He is well respected within the game and he still wants to carry on playing. All the young lads will benefit from listening to what he says on the field.

"He made 228 appearances for Hartlepool and everyone thought he was finished two years ago when he left Scarborough. His level of performance for Tadcaster was outstanding. He was the player of the year last year and didn't dip during the last campaign.

"It is great to get Denny alongside me. We understand each other really well. We have the same philosophy on how to win a game of football. He scored some valuable goals last season for Tadcaster - one against Handsworth when we were 3-1 down and came back to equalise and he also scored in the FA Vase.

"He's a great football player and we want to try and get another year or two out of him at Pickering.

"Mike Morton was brilliant last season for me (as Tadcaster Albion assistant) but he has got so much on with the i2i Sports Academy. I need a bit more commitment. Denny lives in Scarborough and is close to that scene while I am close to the York scene. We should be able to cover both bases."

Marshall has already suffered two early blows as he looks to assemble his new squad with injuries to Joel Ramm and Jamie Patterson meaning he is likely to have to stretch his budget even further.

He added: "It is unfortunate that we have found out that Joel Ramm needs cruciate ligament surgery and Jamie Patterson, who was having a kick around with some of his mates, has broken his leg in two places.

"Sam Calvert is just out of a pot so we haven't had the best of luck with injuries. We do need to strengthen and we are looking around already and talking to players. Everyone plays their cards close to their chests early on.

"We want to get a great start to the season and there is a good feelgood factor around the club. They have probably underachieved in the last couple of years and, hopefully, myself and Denny can win more games of football for Pickering."

Pickering have already announced three pre-season friendlies. They will go to Selby Town on July 18 before entertaining Scarborough on July 28. Whitby Town are also set to visit the Recreation Ground on August 4 and Marshall says more games will be finalised over the coming weeks.