SAM COLLINS is hopeful Ronnie Moore will be back at Hartlepool United for the weekend.

The Pools’ boss is in Spain, where his daughter is in hospital after suffering from pneumonia, meaning Collins is overseeing training and preparations for Saturday’s trip to York.

But there are signs that the condition of Moore’s daughter is improving and Collins, who led Pools to victory at Fleetwood on Tuesday evening, said: “The latest update I got from Ronnie was last night and he said her oxygen levels had started to improve.

“They were hoping this morning that it will improve again and that she is on the mend.

“Everyone knows it's been a worrying time for Ronnie and his family but hopefully she's beginning to improve now and hopefully they'll get her out of the hospital as soon as possible.’’

Collins, speaking at this morning’s press conference at Maiden Castle, added: “We'll see how things progress and how Charlotte improves over the next 24 hours and take it from there.

“Everything is a little bit up in the air [in terms of what's going to happen with who's running the team]. We're just hoping she gets better, that's the most important thing.

“If it means me looking after things on Saturday then we'll just get on with it. The lads need to concentrate on the football and we'll prepare as normal and make sure we're ready for Saturday.’’