Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick reflects on 'normal week' despite off-field uncertainty

Singh announced his sudden decision to step down last Tuesday, alleging that "personal abuse and the misrepresentation of information" had made his position "untenable". While the enigmatic owner vowed to continue funding club operations until the end of the season, Pools face a race against time to attract new investment, complete a takeover deal and secure the club's future. For fans, players and staff alike, it is a daunting step into the unknown and an undeniably uncertain time.

Singh's tenure has been a controversial one. Having stepped in at the end of the 2017/18 season to save the club from administration and the threat of potential liquidation, he played a key role in helping Pools win promotion back to the Football League in 2021, thanks in large part to the inspired appointment of Dave Challinor. However, Pools struggled to recover from Challinor's departure to Stockport County four months into the new season. A succession of indifferent managerial appointments, poor recruitment and an apparent lack of vision and ambition saw the club relegated back to the National League in 2023. While Pools look to be on a firmer financial footing than they were when Singh took over seven years ago - and that, surely, is set to be his crowning achievement - in purely footballing terms there has been little to no progress; Pools finished the 2017/18 campaign in 15th in the National League and are currently 14th with eight games to go this term.

Limbrick is certainly in an unenviable position. The Australian, who had been expected to succeed Lennie Lawrence in the summer, was thrust into the top job at the beginning of last month after the veteran's sudden decision to step down. Since then, Pools have managed just one win in nine games, a miserable run that's seen them slip out of play-off contention and start looking over their shoulders towards the bottom four. Now, although Limbrick has insisted his focus remains solely on footballing matters, he is having to fend off a whole host of questions about the club's future. While he is plainly not the man who should be left to answer them, Singh was not in attendance for Saturday's draw with Solihull Moors and does not have a history of engaging with the media while the newly-established interim board have, so far at least, remained anonymous.

Despite the tense and chaotic circumstances that dominated the week leading up to Saturday's clash with Solihull Moors, a game which ended up being delayed by almost 20 minutes following a floodlight failure, Limbrick insists it was "normal" for his side.

What has the Hartlepool United head coach said?

"I must commend the players, they've been absolutely professional," he told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"We trained normally this week despite all the noise that's been going on around us. The players were fantastic, I thought they delivered the game plan. I thought we should have won the game, the players put in the effort and the work rate. I can only give them credit, they made it a normal week. It wasn't too much different for us from a coaching point of view and preparing the team to try and win. We want to win our home games - we haven't won enough home games, we understand that. We've drawn too many games. I don't think there was a lack of effort there today.

"For us, it was business as usual and it wasn't an issue."

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