Hartlepool United interim manager Antony Sweeney comments on his future and plays down potential Stockport County link

Hartlepool United interim manager Antony Sweeney admits his future at the club is ultimately out of his hands.
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The Pools legend took temporary charge for the second time following Dave Challinor’s departure for Stockport County earlier in the week.

Sweeney is expected to remain in the dugout for Saturday’s FA Cup first round tie against Wycombe Wanderers at Victoria Park (3pm kick-off) but is unsure on how long his tenure will be as caretaker this time around.

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“The football club has to decide whether they want me to remain here,” he told The Mail.

Dave Challinor and Antony Sweeney (Credit: Leila Coker | MI News)Dave Challinor and Antony Sweeney (Credit: Leila Coker | MI News)
Dave Challinor and Antony Sweeney (Credit: Leila Coker | MI News)

“I have no idea what will happen and I’ve been in football long enough to expect the unexpected but I’m comfortable with what I’m doing at this moment in time.

"I feel as though I know what my skill-set is and I’ve portrayed that to the football club and we’ll see where that takes us.”

Given the strong relationship Sweeney forged and the success he had working alongside Challinor, there has been speculation linking him with a coaching role at Edgeley Park.

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But the 38-year-old is likely to remain at Pools and isn’t thinking about anything beyond his current task at the moment.

“Honestly, I’ve had no chance to think about anything like that,” he admitted. “If someone had told me last Friday or even Saturday that I’d be sat here talking [as interim manager], I’d have said they’re crazy so to plot what is going to happen in the next week, month or even year, it would be really difficult for me to say at this moment in time.”

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