New manager Dean Saunders has hinted his role at Crawley is likely to only be a short-term one.

Saunders was brought in on an interim basis today after the club confirmed that John Gregory was stepping down to have open heart surgery in early January.

The former Aston Villa, Liverpool, Albion and Wales striker will take charge of the team for the first time against Colchester United at the Checkatrade.com Stadium tomorrow.

Saunders had been lined up since the extent of Gregory’s health problems became apparent and had been in the crowd for the 2-1 home defeat to Port Vale last Saturday.

The pressure had been growing on Gregory following a run of ten games without a win which saw Reds drop into the relegation zone following the 4-1 loss at Leyton Orient on Boxing Day.

Saunders has been tasked with trying to keep the club in League One but has suggested he will step aside once Gregory is capable of returning to work.

Saunders, 50, said: “It's an unusual circumstance. I was at Aston Villa when John was Brian Little’s assistant and I had a good relationship with him.

“He personally rang me, after the chairman rang me, and asked would I come in.

"The main thing is John's health. He's a strong man, and I'm sure he'll come through it. The plan is he comes back, and if I can come in and help the club get out of where it is then great.”

Saunders experienced relegation in his last two managerial roles – at Doncaster and Wolves – and has been out of work since being sacked by Wolves in April 2013.

But the 50-year-old is confident he can turn Crawley’s fortunes around and says he has been promised the resources to guide them away from danger.

Saunders added: “I also know the chief executive (Michael Dunford) from when I was at Derby, and at some point I have to roll my sleeves up and get back in.

“Some people might say 'you're mad' but it's very rare you walk into a job and everything's perfect.

"They've got some decent players and the chairman's really enthusiastic - he's assured me he'll give me the tools to improve things."