Anthony Limbrick: is the Australian the right man to lead Pools beyond this season?

It always looked like being a difficult afternoon for Pools, who made the trip to Greater Manchester with nothing left to play for other than pride. Rochdale, by contrast, needed a win to secure their place in this year's National League play-offs while Jimmy McNulty's side were also eager to tighten their grip on a top five spot, securing themselves a home quarter-final. Yet the more than 700 Pools fans who descended on Spotland dressed in flat caps as part of the club's annual fancy dress tradition still made the trip in optimistic mood, especially after their side produced an impressive performance to beat play-off chasing Gateshead on Easter Monday. Pools came into the game with four wins in their last six matches but the contrast between the statement win over their near neighbours on Monday and their wilting display against a relentless Rochdale could hardly have been starker. How could it be that Pools looked so organised, threatening and cohesive at the beginning of the week and so rudderless, tentative and uncertain five days later?

Well, there certainly were some extenuating circumstances following another turbulent week off the field. While Limbrick must have been hoping to have the chance to talk up his side's statement win over Gateshead earlier in the week when he met the press at Durham's Maiden Castle on Thursday, he was instead faced with a barrage of questions about ongoing uncertainty surrounding the club's future. Pools made headlines on Wednesday, largely for the wrong or at the very least dubious reasons. Hartlepool College of Further Education, who had partnered with Pools for five years and helped develop some of the club's promising young talent, released a statement criticising the decision to "abruptly move away from" the agreement "with minimal notice and without clear reasons". Although Pools offered a response later that same evening - and it's worth noting that the club do have to cut their cloth accordingly, with parachute payments from the Football League coming to an end - it was not a good look, especially given the decision was made "eight months into a two-year agreement".

Yet the big news came following the interim board's latest update, which suggested it was now "highly unlikely" that a takeover deal would be completed before the end of the season on May 5, when owner Raj Singh has vowed to stop funding club operations. The news came as a particularly bitter blow given that many fans had hoped a takeover was edging towards completion, especially after local businesswoman Shelley Hammond, who has long retained an interest in the purchase of Pools and has been one of the names most strongly linked with a deal of late, posted an Instagram with the caption "Hartlepool bound" earlier in the week. While there is still optimism about the prospect of a deal going through, the longer the situation drags on, the worse things threaten to get. At best, Pools run the risk of losing a number of high profile players this summer - the likes of Mani Dieseruvwe, Joe Grey, Nathan Sheron, Gary Madine and David Ferguson are all out of contract at the end of the season - and playing catch up on the rest of their rivals. At worst, Pools could be threatened with administration and even potential footballing oblivion.

So, rather than arriving in Greater Manchester with a spring in his step, Limbrick must have been tearing his hair out as he prepared for one of the sternest tests of his tenure so far. Yet if Limbrick's insistence that the off-field issues have not proven a distraction to himself or his players is to be believed, then it's difficult to legislate for the dismal performance Pools produced at the weekend. Whatever Limbrick might say, it's almost impossible to imagine that the off-field chaos hasn't taken a toll on the players. The Australian has been put in an impossible position; as the club's figurehead and the only member of the non-playing staff to have faced up to the media since Singh's resignation, it is only natural that he has had to bat away a whole host of questions about the club's precarious future, even if he is plainly not the man best placed to answer them. For all the interim board have tried their best to maintain channels of communication through occasional statements, none have spoken out publicly, albeit perhaps for understandable reasons. Indeed, the board, who themselves have been thrust into an uncertain and unsettling position, have remained anonymous, officially at least.

In private, Limbrick has surely had to deal with the concerns of a number of his players, many of whom have hinted at an eagerness to remain in the North East but who also have livelihoods and families to take care of. Who could begrudge Nathan Sheron, for instance, the chance to secure his future elsewhere? The indefatigable midfielder has been superb this season and his commitment was highlighted when he played the full 90 minutes in last month's win over Halifax less than 72 hours after his wife gave birth to their second child, Ollie Eric Sheron. The decision to tie Sheron down to a new deal would have seemed like a formality had Pools not found themselves in such a state of limbo, with the club now, presumably, unable to commit to negotiating contracts.

So, for all fans are right to demand a level of professional pride, it's also worth remembering that most of the squad, like the supporters, staff and volunteers, are in the midst of a difficult period. It is surely more challenging to raise your game for a match at the end of the season with next to nothing on the line, especially when it could well be one of your last for the club.

Even so, there were some concerning signs on Saturday. Pools were outplayed, outclassed and outfought by an impressive Dale side who have come out on top in this season's two meetings by an aggregate score of 8-1, to be frank an embarrassing margin. Limbrick himself would probably admit he was outthought by Dale boss Jimmy McNulty, with Pools having no answer for the home side's relentless press, the fluid movement of their front three or the determined runs of their marauding wing-backs. It's one thing to lose a game, but the manner of the capitulation was a different matter. Pools seemed to lose all sense of cohesiveness and discipline towards the end, summed up when Gary Madine, who has never taken a set-piece for Pools, slammed a free-kick miles over the crossbar despite the fact that David Ferguson, who scored from a similar range against Fylde last month, was still on the pitch.

Yet, Saturday notwithstanding, Limbrick deserves considerable credit for how well he has navigated such a challenging time. Even the most sceptical of onlookers - and, given Hartlepool United's questionable track record over the last decade or so, even ardent optimists find it hard to remain positive at times - can hardly have imagined the chaos and uncertainty that would follow in the wake of his appointment. In purely footballing terms, something of a misconception has developed suggesting Pools were flying and closing in on the play-offs when the Australian took over from the veteran Lennie Lawrence. Simply put, this is not the case. Pools had failed to win any of their four games prior to Lawrence's unexpected decision to step down, drawing with relegation-threatened Wealdstone, Woking and Braintree while being comprehensively outplayed by high-flying Barnet. Pools had lost influential pair Anthony Mancini and Joe Grey and were beginning to lose hope of gatecrashing the top seven; indeed, that perhaps explains the strange timing of Lawrence's decision, with most fans not anticipating a change until the summer. So, Limbrick was thrust into the limelight - and no doubt was delighted to get his opportunity, even if it was somewhat sprung upon him. True, there were some low points in a miserable run of eight games without a win as Limbrick grappled with his new role, making some bizarre selection decisions - leaving top-scorer Mani Dieseruvwe on the bench for three successive matches, dropping Reyes Cleary for last month's trip to Fylde and his initial reluctance to pick Billy Sass-Davies - as well as a number of changes in shape and formation. Even so, Limbrick is a positive and proactive coach, not content to rest on his laurels and wait for things to change. With Pools beginning to look over their shoulders, they produced an impressive performance to beat a resurgent Boston, the first of six games unbeaten. In that run, supporters have seen the best of the Australian; attacking, purposeful, energetic, sincere and passionate.

Given all the pressure and expectation that comes with it, the Pools job would rank among the hardest in the National League even without all the off-field issues. It's been impossible to avoid sense that Pools have been in a race against time to attract new investment and secure the club's future, with the situation becoming more and more precarious as the clock ticks towards the final day of the season, when enigmatic owner Raj Singh has vowed to pull his funding. It's hard to tell how Limbrick could have handled such a tough situation much better. Remarkably, results have improved as tensions have heightened while his hands-on approach has helped keep the squad pulling in the same direction despite facing such an uncertain future. Limbrick has stuck to his task uncomplainingly throughout and his record across his first 16 matches - five wins, five draws and six defeats - compares pretty favourably to many of his predecessors. The fact is that most of the successful managers in this season's National League - title-winning boss Dean Brennan, York's Adam Hinshelwood, Forest Green's Steve Cotterill, Altrincham's Phil Parkinson and Tamworth's Andy Peaks - have considerable financial backing, solid foundations, or both. Limbrick has not had much of either.

It also feels important that Pools move away from the hire and fire culture that has defined the club for too long. Indeed, Limbrick is the 16th permanent appointment in the last decade while Pools have employed three different managers for the second successive season. The penchant for chopping and changing has had a detrimental effect on the squad; the last five previous incumbents, John Askey, Lennie Lawrence, Kevin Phillips, Darren Sarll and Limbrick, could hardly have been more different in terms of style and approach. Whoever is calling the shots next season would be well-served by sticking to a philosophy and a set of principles, an approach which has allowed the likes of Barnet, Gateshead, Halifax and Altrincham to compete towards the top end of the table despite relatively limited resources. The decision to replace Kevin Phillips, who proved himself imperfect but promising, with Darren Sarll turned out to be a mistake that undermined the entirety of this season. Pools should not fall into the same trap again this summer.

Inevitably, fans will have a wide range of differing opinions about the Australian, while it's also worth noting that the debate will become irrelevant unless a takeover is completed. Clearly, any prospective new owners will have a decision to make on the man in the dugout, and new arrivals are often eager to put their own stamp on things from the off, sometimes with a manager of their own choosing. If that happens, then it would be a bitter pill for Limbrick to swallow. The former Woking, New Saints and Manchester 62 boss has stuck by Pools throughout a turbulent few months. Now, it could be time for supporters and the club to stick by him.

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