Hartlepool United manager determined to deliver "something special" ahead of new National League season
Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson has sent a rousing message to Pools fans ahead of what he hopes will be a "special" National League season.
Despite a dramatic period off the pitch that has seen the patience of long-suffering supporters pushed to the limits, there is a renewed sense of optimism as Pools prepare to kick off their campaign with a trip to Yeovil on Saturday. While it's true that most of the off-field issues haven't gone away and that tensions between the fanbase and the club's controversial owner Raj Singh are never far from the surface, it feels as though Pools have made genuine progress, often against the odds, in a footballing sense in recent weeks.
Although last weekend's defeat to National League North side South Shields took some of the sheen off largely positive pre-season preparations, while this week's high profile row between former president Jeff Stelling and Singh has seen the club make headlines for all the wrong reasons, Pools fans making the 343-mile trip to Huish Park this weekend will do so in confident mood. Pools have made 12 summer signings, strengthening all over the pitch, and look to have a squad capable of challenging for the play-offs; it's a sign of how successful this summer looks to have been that Pools have lost both Mani Dieseruvwe, who scored 43 goals in 89 games at Victoria Park, and Joe Grey but appear to be heading into the new campaign with a stronger squad than finished last term.
"This is your football club," Grayson told BBC Radio Tees Sport.
"Managers and players come and go, but supporters stay through thick and thin. This football club has had some troubled times in the last couple of years, but what I'm trying to do is make sure I get that spirit, that togetherness, back amongst players and supporters. I want us all to be signing from the same hymn sheet, all fighting for each other, all backing each other.
"We will need the supporters at some point over the season, and they will need us as well; it's a two-way thing. I want my players to represent this community and this football club, and what supporters demand - that's being honest, hardworking, and willing to give everything for the shirt. Let's hope that, through good times and bad, we're celebrating something special at the end of the season. This group of supporters certainly deserve that."