TONY Parkes is planning to ring the changes for Saturday's trip to Newcastle United -- and that means possible recalls for Garry Flitcroft and Matt Jansen.

Parkes has a history of shaking things up whenever he has stepped into the breach as a caretaker in the past.

And the stand-in boss is ready to do the same again against the Magpies, with Flitcroft likely to start in the centre of midfield and Jansen earmarked for a possible place on the bench.

Both players had fallen out of favour under previous manager Graeme Souness, with Flitcroft restricted to just one start in the opening four games of the season after being stripped of the captaincy, while Jansen was not used at all.

But Parkes is ready to wipe the slate clean and draft in several players who were on the fringes under Souness in a bid to pep-up a squad which is still looking for its first win.

"What happens when you step in is it gives players who haven't been in the side a little bit of heart," said Parkes, who began his sixth spell as caretaker earlier this week.

"They suddenly start thinking 'he might put me in the side this week' so that's the position a lot of them find themselves in.

"I don't know what those who have been in the side are thinking. They'll probably be crossing their fingers and hoping they're still in the side or they might be thinking I could change it this weekend.

"So there's a lot of thinking to be done and there's a lot of hope for players who haven't been in the team."

Flitcroft looks certain to start alongside Barry Ferguson in the centre of midfield with Parkes likely to go with a 4-4-2 formation at St James' Park - not the 4-5-1 that some had expected.

Jansen, in the meantime, could make the bench after impressing the coaching staff with his attitude in the reserves recently.

"Matt's attitude has been fantastic at that level," said Parkes.

"He's worked hard, he's tried to get back to where he was, and he'll certainly be in my thoughts."

Jansen capped a hard-working display with a goal in Tuesday night's 2-2 draw with Liverpool reserves - a performance which delighted Parkes.

"We nearly had to carry Matt off because he worked that hard but he got his reward with a goal and might have had another."

Jonathon Douglas, another player who has yet to figure so far this season, may also feature at the weekend in some capacity.

In the meantime, Rob Kelly will assist Parkes with the running of the first team until the club appoint a new manager.

Kelly and Parkes had been working together with the reserves this season but both are currently helping to prepare the team for Saturday's trip to the North East.