Dave Challinor explains why Hartlepool United didn’t try to sign Danny Rowe ahead of Chesterfield move from Bradford City

Chesterfield snapped up the previously prolific striker from League Two side Bradford City in an attempt to boost their play-off hopes.

Rowe’s previous spell in non-league football saw him score just shy of 200 goals for AFC Fylde under the management of now Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor.

The striker will be looking to open his Spireites account when his new club travel to Victoria Park to face a Pools side who now sit third in the table following Tuesday night’s results.

While Pools had previously been in the market for a striker prior to the arrivals of Danny Elliott and Harvey Saunders, Challinor insists a reunion with Rowe was not on his radar.

“I think Chesterfield have got themselves a good player but for us, they need to fit with what we can do budget wise and Rowey didn’t,” Challinor told The Mail.

“If we’re talking about a permanent deal, his wages alone are around double what we are paying for any other player in our squad at the moment. We’ve obviously benefited a lot from loans which have allowed us to protect the budget while bringing in quality players.

“I know him better than any manager in the division and he’s statistically the best goalscorer in the National League over the past four or five years.

"He’ll be a big asset to Chesterfield, I watched him on Saturday [at Wrexham] to see how they’ve changed things. We’ll look forward to playing him and stopping him in front of the BT cameras at the weekend.”

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