Hartlepool United manager Craig Hignett opens up about transfer policy

The Pools boss is said to have spent all of his originally-allocated budget so far, as he has made six new additions bringing the total squad size to a very healthy 24.

But chairman Raj Singh has hinted that the impressive season-ticket sale figures could allow more players to be brought in.

Left-back Andrew Taylor and trialist Jason Kennedy are thought to be two names on Pools’ shopping list should Hignett be given the green light.

And the United boss has revealed how he has gone about bringing players into the club.

“You’ve just got to sell players the club and hope that they buy into the vision,” Hignett said.

“Hopefully they speak to people who’ve worked under you as a manager that have good things to say.

“But I shouldn’t have to sell the club to anyone really, they should want to be here, all the players we’ve brought in have made it clear they want to play for the club.

“We’ve had a few players and agents who’ve hesitated and tried to play us against other clubs and they’ve gone elsewhere because that’s not the type of player I want.

“I think what has happened at this club has been very exciting, especially towards the end of last season with the way we were playing – players should want to be involved with that.

“I don’t like talking too much about other players because it’s all about the players you’ve got at your club and I think the players we have are really good footballers.

“They should be too good for this league but they have to be in the right mindframe and they have to be fit to do it week in, week out because the league is one long slog.

“We all know how tough the league is and you play against different playing styles every week.

“You’ll be playing a Solihull one week then a footballing team the next so you need to have a good mix and I think we’ve got that.”

Pools, meanwhile, are set to open a brand new executive lounge for the 2019-20 season.

The lounge is in partnership with main sponsors Utility Alliance and will include a brand new ‘legends wall’. The club confirmed that limited executive season tickets will be made available in the coming weeks.