Dave Challinor explains why he's yet to agree a new deal at Hartlepool United even though he'd 'love to be able to commit'

Challinor’s current contract at Victoria Park expires next summer with chairman Raj Singh looking to tie the Pools boss down to a new deal after plenty of speculation and interest at the back end of the 2020-21 campaign.

While initial conversations have taken place, Challinor has admitted that agreeing a new deal isn’t his top priority at the moment as he looks to assemble a squad ready for the upcoming League Two campaign.

"There have been conversations in terms of where we’re at,” Challinor told The Mail.

“I’d love to be able to commit but anything that happens needs to be right for me and my family.

"The big thing for me and my situation is I’m still contracted for this coming season which means it’s taken a bit of a back seat if you like because getting the players tied down and getting a competitive squad together takes priority at the moment.

"In my situation, we’ve got time on our hands and hopefully we can get things sorted out.

"But the most important thing for me right now is getting at least 20 players signed up to start August carrying that momentum we built up last season into the Football League.”

Pools currently have 12 players contracted following confirmation of Mark Shelton and Timi Odusina’s extension options, new deals for Ben Killip and Jamie Sterry as well as the signing of Reagan Ogle from Accrington Stanley.

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