Former England international Kevin Richardson has been installed as Staunton’s assistant.
Staunton said: “I’m delighted to be back in football. It’s going to be a tough test, but we’re up for it. The main priority is that we stay up.
“I have a lot of contacts in the game, not least with key people at the big three North-East clubs, and we’ll be looking to use their help.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of League Two games in the last 12 months. I’ve been scouting for Wolves since the Leeds job so I’ve been to a lot of lower league games.
“I’ve got a good idea of what it’s all about and I know the standard. It’s a tough league to get out of and it’s a tough league to stay in as well.”
Staunton added: “It’s our aim to bring some stability. Survival is obviously the main aim so our initial target is just to stay up, but we’re confident.”
