Hartlepool United interim boss Nicky Featherstone calls on Pools squad to "dig deep and fight for each other"
Hartlepool United interim manager Nicky Featherstone has called on his players to "dig deep and fight for each other" as Pools look to bounce back following a miserable week ahead of Saturday's long trip to struggling Sutton.
It's been another remarkable few days at Pools, with the sudden sacking of manager Simon Grayson, who became the 12th of controversial chairman and owner Raj Singh's 13 permanent appointments to leave after less than a year in the role, followed by Tuesday night's humbling FA Cup exit at the hands of Northern Premier League Premier Division side Gainsborough Trinity.
Sadly for many Pools fans, this sort of sinking feeling has started to become all too familiar. Just like last season, Pools made a fast start to the new campaign, picking up 10 points from the first 12 available and keeping four successive clean sheets, but it wasn't long before initial optimism and positivity turned to frustration and anger as things started to go wrong. Pools, who failed to agree a new contract with talismanic top-scorer Mani Dieseruvwe over the summer, have struggled for goals, finding the net a measly 15 times in 16 matches so far this term, and have plummeted down the table following a run of one win in their last 12 games. Fans, many of whom were already on edge following the mishandling of takeover negotiations towards the end of last season and throughout most of the summer, are beginning to run out of patience and talk of boycotts and protests are rife throughout social media.
If there is one man who understands the unique nature of the challenge at Victoria Park, then it is surely Featherstone. The 37-year-old, who has spent more than a decade at Pools and is the club's third highest appearance maker of all time, has been written off, relegated, scapegoated and even briefly released during a dramatic and often challenging spell at the club. While the veteran took care to insist that nothing surprises him at Pools when he sat down with the press in the week, it's hard to avoid the sense of late that the club have been lurching from one crisis to another for far too long.
With Pools still just four points outside the play-off places, however, this season is still salvageable. A lot will, of course, depend on the appointment of Grayson's successor, and it wouldn't be a surprise at all were Featherstone, despite Tuesday's miserable performance and result, in the frame to take the job on a permanent basis. After all, the midfielder knows the club like the back of his hand, is well respected by players and fans alike, and has been involved with the coaching staff since the summer of 2024. Whatever the case, a lot is hinging on the next few matches with Pools, who have recently taken on promotion contenders Forest Green Rovers, Carlisle and York, now set to do battle with relegation-threatened Sutton, Solihull and Morecambe in their next three games.
Pools begin what looks, on paper at least, like a winnable run with a long trip to South London to take on a Sutton side who are in the National League relegation zone having won just one of their first 14 matches this season. Like Pools, the Us have recently made a change in the dugout, replacing Steve Morison with Worthing boss Chris Agutter. Following a goalless draw with fellow strugglers Braintree in Agutter's first game in charge, Sutton edged past Southern League Premier Division South side Farnham Town following an FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay in midweek, securing a 3-2 win in extra time thanks to Will Tizzard's 120th minute strike.
"We've had meetings, I've spoken to a few of the senior lads," Featherstone told The Red Radio.
"I think it's massively important that we forget everything that's happened so far this season. I say forget everything, I think you can draw back on the first four or five games when we were unbelievably hard to break down, we kept plenty of clean sheets. We want to bring back that resilience and remind them that they are good players, there's loads of quality in that dressing room.
"Ultimately, us as staff can try and get the best out of them and make them feel brilliant, but the times when I've felt at my lowest, I've found something within myself to overcome that. We will do what we can as a staff to help, but the players also have to find something within themselves, dig deep and fight for each other as well as this football club."