Hartlepool United manager Kevin Phillips lauds the return of Ronnie Moore as a statement of the club's intent

The 71-year-old, who became a club legend when he masterminded the so-called Great Escape as manager in 2015, was appointed chief scout on Thursday.

With Pools set for a busy summer of recruitment, the club can now count on the combined experience and expertise of Phillips, Moore and head of football Joe Monks, who was behind the recent acquisitions of impressive defensive pairing Tom Parkes and Luke Waterfall.

And Phillips feels the addition of the evergreen Moore will allow Pools to widen the net when it comes to building a competitive squad for next season.

"From my perspective, when you've got someone with that experience looking at players, it can only be good for the football club," he said.

"It just shows you the intent from the club that we are widening our scale of players, and our knowledge of players.

"In terms of when you've got Joe Monks and Ronnie looking at players, it helps me.

"It can only be a positive thing, that's for sure."