Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson pleased with "good options" up front
Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson is confident his side have "good options" at the top end of the pitch following the signings of Danny Johnson and Alex Reid.
The fact that Pools fans feel more optimistic than ever ahead of the new season despite losing both Mani Dieseruvwe and Joe Grey this summer is a sign of how good the club's recruitment looks to have been. If replacing Dieseruvwe, who scored 43 goals in 89 games during a prolific spell at Victoria Park, as well as the lively and energetic Grey, who made 155 appearances for Pools, felt like an almost impossible task, then there's a sense that Grayson and head of football Joe Monks have made a pretty good fist of it.
Pools have secured the signings of Danny Johnson, a proven goalscorer in the Football League who has three goals in his last three pre-season games, as well as Alex Reid, who bagged an impressive 17 goals in 32 games for Wealdstone last term, while versatile attacker Jermaine Francis, fresh from an impressive spell on loan at Braintree, should add something different to the front line. The likes of Luke Charman, Adam Campbell and Sam Folarin will also be determined to prove a point following underwhelming first seasons at Victoria Park.
"He (Reid) has had a great record wherever he's been, and Danny Johnson's another one who has scored over 200 goals in his career," Grayson told BBC Look North.
"You win football matches by putting the ball in the back of the net, so we want good options up there. We've got other players who are going to be pushing them on a daily basis as well. We want good characters and players that have been round the leagues, they know what it's like, they've played at a good level and they can handle, hopefully, playing for a team like Hartlepool United, where there is pressure on you."
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