Dave Challinor looking help build Hartlepool United on and off the pitch with developments in the community for the long term

The new Pools boss helped develop AFC Fylde from the ground up during his eight year tenure at the club.

And while Hartlepool already has some pre-existing foundations in place, Challinor wants to continue the community philosophy in the north east.

“It’s massive, it’s huge because the football club is the heart of the community and we’re asking people to put their hands in their pockets and support us so it’s a crucial part of things,” he said.

“As a club, we have to have a clear picture of where you need to be and if that could mean bringing players through and developing local players.

“As much as people say we’re a bit out of the way up here and it’s difficult to recruit, I don’t believe that for a second because we’ve got three massive clubs on our doorstep if you like and the area is full of good football players.

“Even if you look down to the Northern League, you can see that there’s lots of talent here and we’ve got to try and unearth that.

“If we can get lads through into our youth teams and into our first team, as has been the case with some of the young ones we have got in and around the first team squad at the minute then that’s only going to benefit us as a club in the long run.

“The grassroots and community part of things is massive.”