Graeme Lee had this to say about Hartlepool United midfielder Tom Crawford after the former Notts County man celebrated his new contract in Forest Green Rovers draw

Crawford was one of Pools’ star men as they claimed an impressive draw against the League Two leaders at the New Lawn Stadium.

Crawford came close to opening the scoring when he went racing clear from midfield to latch onto Omar Bogle’s clever headed flick on before dragging his effort narrowly wide.

But the 22-year-old would make amends for that miss midway through the second half by laying on a superb assist for Bogle who levelled the scores to earn Pools a deserved point on their travels.

Crawford has enjoyed a significant improvement in his performances since the arrival of Lee in December and has been a key part of Pools’ success in retaining their Football League status this season.

And last week, Crawford was rewarded as such by being handed a new two-year deal with the club.

Crawford arrived at the Suit Direct Stadium from Notts County in 2020 but has come into his own this season and will now remain with Pools until the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

And Lee could not hide his delight at getting the deal with Crawford done as he now hopes for further contract progress in the coming days.

“We’re trying to get another one done,” Lee told The Mail.

“We’ve got some meetings planned this week for through the week and we’re hoping to get some over the line. But I’m delighted to get him [Crawford] done.

“I thought his performance and his energy was fantastic for us,” Lee added.

“He was up against [Ebou] Adams who, for me, is the best midfielder in the league from what I’ve seen with his all round game, so he had a challenge on.

“But he competed and he got in some good areas and his pass for the goal was absolutely fantastic and that’s one thing I want to see more of from him over the next few years is him getting in them areas and scoring more goals and creating more goals.”