Hartlepool United manager 'gutted' by news of impending departure but Pools rally to beat Forest Green Rovers
Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone admitted he was "gutted" following the news that he is set to step down at the end of the season.
The outgoing Pools boss was speaking after his side ended a four-game winless run by beating promotion hopefuls Forest Green Rovers 2-1 on Saturday.
Pools confirmed on Friday that Featherstone is set to step down from his role at the end of the season following a review by specialist football consultancy firm Bromby and Partners but the 37-year-old's swan song began with a much-improved showing against Robbie Savage's side.
While the official club statement that broke the news of Featherstone's departure on Friday used the deliberately ambiguous phrase "step down" to describe the manner of his exit, the outgoing Pools boss admitted he was "disappointed" by the decision.
Although it's true that there have been some positives from Featherstone's tenure - the former midfielder comfortably outlasted all of his five immediate predecessors in terms of games managed - his departure had started to feel like an inevitability in recent weeks.
Having hauled themselves back into play-off contention thanks to a run of three wins on the bounce, Pools were thrashed 7-0 by Wealdstone in humiliating fashion at the end of last month, the club's heaviest defeat since 1994 and the beginning of a four-match winless run; although he might not have been absolutely aware at the time, that mauling in Ruislip was surely the beginning of the end for Featherstone.
Whatever the case, Pools seem to have taken a step towards banishing some of their bad memories from their thrashing at Grosvenor Vale - not to mention last week's 3-0 defeat at Boreham Wood, with suburban London a particularly unhappy hunting ground for Pools of late - with an assured performance against Forest Green.
With owner Landon Smith watching on from the stands having flown over from the States on Friday, Featherstone made three changes from last Saturday's drubbing at the Wood as Pools switched back to a 3-4-2-1 formation that helped them attack with more purpose and commit more bodies forward in support of Alex Reid.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given that Pools have nothing left to play for while Forest Green have already secured their place in the play-offs, the game at times had the feel of a pre-season contest, with the visitors in particular lacklustre without the ball and ponderous in possession.
To their credit, Pools played with far more vigour and determination and the home side had the better of the opening exchanges without doing too much to test visiting goalkeeper Harry Isted.
Even so, the hosts were a little bit fortunate that referee Ollie Yates ruled Forest Green captain Jordan Moore-Taylor's header out for an apparent infringement in the 27th minute but the likes of Jamie Miley, Cameron John and the swaggering Tyrese Sinclair were causing problems at the other end.
Pools broke the deadlock in the 35th minute thanks to a fine first-time finish from the much-maligned Adam Campbell, one of the players Featherstone brought back into the starting XI ahead of kick-off. So often the subject of vitriolic criticism from the terraces, the 31-year-old ended a personal run of 10 games without scoring as well as his side's spell of almost seven hours without a goal by firing into the top corner after Alex Reid had picked him out on the edge of the box.
Things got even better for the hosts in first half added time when the excellent Reiss McNally, making his first start since February 21 as part of a new look back three also comprising Maxim Kouogun and Jack Hunter, glanced Miley's deep free-kick beyond the despairing Isted to score his third goal of the season.
For much of the second half Pools continued to have the better of things but the visitors pulled one back late on when Kyle McAllister wrong-footed Nick Hayes in the final minute of normal time to give Forest Green a glimmer of hope.
Despite one or two nervous moments in five minutes of added time, the result never really felt in doubt and there might well have been times when Featherstone must have wondered where this sort of performance had been over the last few weeks as Pools slipped out of contention in the race for the top seven.
Whatever happens in the final two games of the season - Pools entertain Southend United, who thrashed Halifax Town 6-2 on Saturday, on Tuesday evening before ending the campaign at Boston United at the weekend, with fans set to don their best pink attire as part of the club's long-running fancy dress tradition - Featherstone, who is the club's third highest appearance maker of all time, can still be confident of enjoying legendary status at Victoria Park for years to come.
Indeed, the coming weeks could prove to be a case of goodbye but not farewell, with Friday's club statement revealing that Pools had held "initial discussions" with Featherstone "to offer alternative roles and opportunities in support of his next steps and further development".
"I found out through a meeting on Thursday," Featherstone told BBC Radio Tees Sport.
"I got asked to come to the ground and meet a few people from the club, and I found out then.
"Obviously, my initial thoughts were that I was gutted. I felt like it would have been good for me personally to have the chance to build my squad and play the way I want to play, but it wasn't to be.
"An external company's come in to help the football club and they need to be seen to be doing things and making changes; I understand football, I've been in it a very, very long time.
"Hopefully, we get the right man next and he's given the full support of the football club to go on and achieve things because I know, over time, Landon (Smith) will be a success at the football club.
"We've got the best points tally in a long time and my win percentage is well above 40, which is better than pretty much every manager in the last 12 years other than Dave Challinor. I'm pretty proud of what we've done and how far we've come with a group that, by the way, was rock bottom.
"I've got to have a couple of conversations with the football club, to go from being the manager into a different role is pretty tough. If I'm around the first team, then the manager's got to be able to trust me; I'm a very loyal person, I'm very trustworthy, but you can see why someone would be wary.
"I don't even know if it would be first team, I don't know. There's a lot of questions and there are a few conversations that need to happen.
"I asked for the lads to fight today (Saturday). We did quite a lot of work on tactics but the underlying message was, just give me everything, run around; don't just do it for me, do it for yourselves.
"There's a lot of uncertainty for a lot of those players, there are only three that are still here next season - as of now. So for them to put in that performance and those effort levels, I'm really proud of that, I'm really proud of the group."