Contract issue with former Sunderland striker one of five things for Hartlepool United to address ahead of next season

Pools return to pre-season duty in little over three weeks where they will carry out fitness testing ahead of their warm weather training camp in Portugal.

The club will play a total of six friendlies ahead of the new season including a fixture with Scottish Premiership side Hibernian in the Algarve as part of that warm weather camp.

When Pools players return to duty on June 20 they won’t have long to wait until they find out who their 2022/23 campaign will start against with fixtures set to be released on June 23.

And with that in mind, here at The Mail, we take a look at some of the things the club need to address ahead of the new season.

A new manager

It goes without saying at the top of the list is the clubs need to appoint a new manager.

It has been almost a month since the club announced the sacking of manager Graeme Lee ahead of the final game of the season against Colchester United with his replacement still to be sourced.

Pools have found their search for a new boss challenging with a number of setbacks over the last week including Paul Hartley’s decision to remain with Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers and Pete Wilds’ decision to join Barrow.

Former Middlesbrough, Newcastle United and Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate was the first to turn down the role after he explained his bemusement at Lee’s sacking.

Since then, Pools have carried out a thorough process to narrow down their search to what was described as an ‘exciting shortlist’ with a new manager still to be confirmed.

Bromley boss Andy Woodman remains the current bookmakers’ favourite for the role after guiding the National League side to 10th this season.

Woodman was linked with the vacancy back in November following Dave Challinor’s exit from the Suit Direct Stadium but may face competition for the role from ex-Leeds United and Sunderland manager Simon Grayson who also remains in the frame.

Whichever decision Pools come to they need to come to it quickly in order to allow the new manager time to assess his squad ahead of the pre-season scheduling.

What next for current staff

While the search for a new manager goes on, a decision will also have to be made regarding the future of those who currently remain with the club.

Following Lee’s sacking, Michael Nelson and Antony Sweeney were handed the role of caretaker manager to take care of first team duties and as things stand, those roles remain.

Nelson suggested after the final day defeat to Colchester he was not sure what his future looked like but that he would continue to give his utmost for the club until told otherwise.

Nelson was brought in as Lee’s assistant in December and, as things stand, remains a firm part of the club’s backroom team.

Likewise Sweeney, who took interim charge of the first team in November while the club carried out its search for Challinor’s replacement, remains a key figure at Pools.

The ex-midfielder signed a new deal with the club until 2024 earlier this year with the focus of his role being centred around the new academy which is set to return this summer.

Sweeney is expected to balance his duties between the academy set-up and the first team and that is likely to continue whenever a new manager has been appointed.

But both Nelson and Sweeney will need clarity on their futures as well as details as to where they stand with any potential new manager coming in.

Contracts and recruitment

With just three weeks until players return from their summer break its fair to say there is a lot of work to do on the Pools squad in order for it to be ready for the July 30 kick-off.

Pools failed to fill their bench for the final five games of the season, naming just four substitutes for the last game of the season against Colchester which has led to some concern about the depth of the squad.

And when you analyse what is left of the squad following the retained list which the club released recently, the realisation of the task in hand becomes stark.

Although there remains plenty of time until the season begins in July, any new manager will need to work fast if he is to gather the nucleus of his squad for the majority of pre-season.

New head of recruitment Chris Trotter will certainly have been working behind the scenes since his arrival and will undoubtedly have drafted up a list of potential new signings for the new manager to assess but the club continues to be at a standoff with one or two players who have yet to sign new contracts with the club.

Luke Molyneux, Timi Odusina, Mark Shelton and Gary Liddle are all yet to put pen to paper on a new deal which will only weaken the squad should they decide not to return to the Suit Direct Stadium.

The sooner a new manager is installed, the sooner he can get to work on life with or without some of these key players for next season.

Pre-season schedule to be completed

Chief operating officer Stephen Hobin has worked diligently in arranging Pools’ upcoming pre-season schedule but there remains one announcement to be made with the final game of pre-season still to be announced.

Hobin declared in a club statement recently the fixture had been agreed for July 25 at the Suit Direct Stadium and that an announcement would be made in due course and fingers crossed that remains the case.

So far, Pools will face Lee Johnson’s Hibernain in Portugal before games with non-league duo Billingham Synthonia and Marske United and then stepping up the level of opposition against League One’s Lincoln City and Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

Academy launch

Another aspect of Hobin’s work since joining the club has been the development and re-launch of the club’s academy.

Hobin disclosed back in February the club had appealed for a Category 4 status which they expected to be granted and has since been pictured around the town of Hartlepool with youth teams in order to help create a link between them for the club to receive a first look at any potential young talent coming through within the area.

The academy launch will be a huge boost to the club next season not only by developing any stars of the future but by also offering an option for the new manager when it comes to squad rotation throughout the season.

Should Pools suffer an injury crisis similar to what they did at the end of this season then an academy will at least allow them to fill the bench with a full quota of players.

But as well as the launch of the academy, the club needs to appoint a new academy manager to oversee proceedings.

While Sweeney will maintain role within the academy, his crossover into the first team opens up space for a full-time role with the academy which the club have appealed for applications to fill.

Appointing an academy manager should be the final piece of the jigsaw, subject to the EFL licence being granted, of the club’s operations to re-launch their academy structure.