CARETAKER boss Sam Collins has welcomed the battle for places on York City’s bench.

With Sean Newton expected to return to the fold for this weekend’s home clash against Kidderminster after five games out with medial ligament damage and Alex Kempster also on the mend, Collins is happy with the selection options at his disposal.

Jordan Burrow and Tom Allan both failed to make the matchday squad during City’s last contest – the 1-1 draw at Hereford – despite the former featuring in all of the club’s other National League North fixtures this term.

Defender Allan also started Martin Gray’s last two games in charge of the Minstermen but is yet to figure under Collins.

Dan Parslow, who remains just one outing short of a place in the club’s all-time appearances’ top-ten list, was preferred to Allan for bench duty at Edgar Street

Outside of Newton, Kemspter and youth-team graduates Flynn McNaughton, Josh Rogerson and Harry Thompson, Allan, Parslow and goalkeeping understudy Ryan Whitley are the only senior professionals yet to taste action under Collins, who has used 15 different players and started 14 during his three-game tenure.

The Minstermen remain unbeaten under Collins, but Jon Parkin, Russ Penn, Fergus McAughtrie, Wes York and Jake Wright have all been in and out of the side during the former Port Vale and Hartlepool defender’s tenure and the temporary chief has insisted he won’t shy away from making any more personnel changes if he feels they are needed on a match-by-match basis.

“We have a strong bench with Sean Newton and Alex Kempster coming back as well,” Collins pointed out. “There’s a lot of competition and that’s what you want, because players know they need to be at it or they can be left out of the team.

“I’ve said all along that I won’t be afraid to change the team if I think it suits us in a particular game, whether the players are in good form of not. There are many different styles of play in this league – that’s one thing I’ve noticed – so I want to try and pick a team that I think will get us a result.

“I understand players might be disappointed a bit by that, but the bigger picture for us is we want to try and win as many games as possible and the players’ attitudes have been great. If I’ve left somebody out, they’ve not complained about it and I’ll be honest with them when they ask me why.

“I said to everyone before the Brackley game we will need everybody, and it will be that way.”