Next few weeks 'massive' for Craig Hignett and Hartlepool, says chairman

Chairman Gary Coxall has claimed that the next few weeks are 'massive' for Hartlepool United and their manager Craig Hignett.
Gary CoxallGary Coxall
Gary Coxall

In familiar fashion Coxall has taken social media, after his side’s shocking 5-0 home loss to Cambridge.

The director made it clear to fans that despite recent results the club would not panic.

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But he hinted that the next few weeks could be crucial for the both club, players and the gaffer.

Fan @hallyink’s struck up a Twitter conversation with the manager, it said: “Big few weeks Mr Chairman. I thought Higgy was the man for job and gutted it’s not worked. I can’t see how its going to improve.”

To which the Coxall replied: “Massive”.

The chairman reaffirmed his claims that Hartlepool is heading in the right direction, particularly in a financial sense.

The club were hit with a second winding up order petition recently, but managed to settle the unpaid tax bill before the matter went to court.

This has had a number of fans worried.

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But, seemingly, not Coxall, who said: “Winding Up orders sound a hell of a lot worse than they actually are.
“Debt (has been) written off, but highlighting that, some would prefer pumping endless money in and the club in the weight down with debt.

“We’ll be a commercially astute, self sufficient club in a position to produce our own players and pay transfer fees off the field.”

Pressure has been mounting both on Hignett and Coxall in recent weeks as the club were dumped out of their third and last cup competition this season, as well as continuing to slide down the League Two table.

The club’s plight has had many a fan, and Hignett himself, look to the January transfer window.

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But the manager has played down the idea that there will be plenty of reinforcements coming through the door at the Vic.

Despite his manager’s claims to the contrary, Coxall says the club could be very active in the January transfer window.

He even went as far to state that one loan deal, with Finnish club FC Lahti, had been lined up for next month.

When asked about the window, he said: “Wasn’t the plan (to look to add) at the start of the season but we won’t sit around.”

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And when quizzed about the links with the Finnish club and a potential loan from Scandanavia, he added: “Looking at one in particular.”

He added: “Let’s see what happens in January.”

Some fans took to Twitter to claim that the chairman does not care about the current situation, and that he is at risk of letting it slide should he keep Hignett at the helm.

He hit back to those claims emphatically.

Coxall tweeted to punters: “So, I’m spineless, skint, clueless, an idiot, a liar and a fraud. I still love the club and we will be putting this right.”

Addressing the fans criticisms of the players, he said: “Confidence I think (is the problem). Self belief in our own ability is my view.

“Mentality to grab the game back when not going our way and fight our way back in.”