Hartlepool United manager Darren Sarll set to be back on familiar territory ahead of Saturday's National League opener

Pools begin the new campaign with their longest trip of the season, travelling more than 300 miles from the North East to Somerset.

There's a renewed sense of optimism around Victoria Park, with Sarll impressing with his straight-talking manner and refreshingly focused approach to recruitment, welcoming seven new signings so far this summer.

It promises to be a memorable weekend for Sarll, assistant manager Carl Dickinson and new signings Billy Sass-Davies and Adam Smith, with the quartet all set to return to one of their former clubs.

Sarll spent three years at Huish Park, leading the Glovers to the National League play-offs in his first season in charge but also having to deal with the tragic suicide of captain Lee Collins, who was just 32 when he died, as well as a host of off-field uncertainties.

Yeovil now look to be on firmer financial footing; the Somerset outfit were crowned National League South champions with 95 points last season, have added eight new faces this summer and tied down manager Mark Cooper to a long term contract.

Sarll, who described his time in Somerset as "beautifully tragic", admits he's looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground but was also at pains to stress that the curtain raiser will not make or break his side's season.

"It's not a massive week, we'll just carry on our standard of work," he told the club website.

"We're going into a campaign now that's 46 games long, it's not going to end at five o'clock next Saturday; it definitely does start at three o'clock next Saturday.

"I think we're all looking forward to it, the players have put in an incredible amount of work, as have the staff.

"It's time to draw back the curtain, the lights to come down and for us to go into proper action.

"I'm really looking forward to it for the obvious reasons of starting the season and going back to one of my former clubs."