YORK City’s new chief scout Harry Dunn will be assigned with running the rule over potential signings and assessing forthcoming opponents.

Dunn, 64, will head up a national network of scouts for City, having fulfilled the same role for new Bootham Crescent chief Martin Gray at his previous club Darlington.

With Dunn, pictured, as manager, Whitby Town reached the FA Cup first round proper on three separate occasions whilst, in 2008, he led Blyth Spartans to the third round of the competition, defeating Shrewsbury and Bournemouth along the way, before only getting knocked out 1-0 by then Premier League outfit Blackburn.

Admitting that Dunn’s expert eye was responsible for the majority of his recruits at their previous club, Gray went on to point out that his addition to the Minstermen ranks was as crucial an appointment as any other position filled at the club.

“He’s a wily old fox, who has been there and done it, including playing at Wembley four times,” Gray pointed out about the former FA Trophy winner with Scarborough. “He had a fantastic25-year career as a manager, beating the likes of Shrewsbury and Bournemouth in the FA Cup, so he has a great pedigree and knowledge of players at this level, the division above and further down.

“He can pluck players out of nowhere, which is a great asset to have. Almost all the players I recruited at Darlington came off his recommendation and he’s a workaholic who probably goes to about 90 games a season, including places he shouldn’t.

“He’s a key part of our team and no different to the centre forward or assistant manager in that respect, because all the staff here are part of what we are trying to achieve. We’ll also have others all around the country to build up a strong portfolio of players, while Harry heads the team.

“He’s done match reports for me at Darlington for the last five years and he’ll do that here, but he’ll also be doing player reports, which he is doing this weekend when we’ll have two or three games covered.”

Outlining the targets in his new job under Gray, Dunn added: “My role is to go out, use the contacts I have got and use the experience I have got to hopefully bring better players to York City and move the club forward.

“We have always worked on the principle that we have always got to look to improve.”