Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson previews opening day trip to Yeovil Town

For the second year in a row, Pools are set to begin their new National League campaign with a long trip to Somerset following what's been a summer of change for both sides. A large part of the summer in the North East has been overshadowed by off-field issues in the wake of enigmatic owner Raj Singh's sudden and unexpected resignation from his position as chairman as well as his subsequent return to his former role after the apparent collapse of takeover talks. It's been all change on the pitch too; of the 11 players that started last season's opening day win over Yeovil, six - Joel Dixon, Dan Dodds, Luke Waterfall, David Ferguson, Joe Grey and Mani Dieseruvwe - have all left the club, while only Tom Parkes and Nathan Sheron can feel confident of starting at Huish Park on Saturday. Yeovil have also experienced upheaval in recent months, with the Glovers heading into the 2025/26 campaign under new ownership after Dubai-based entrepreneur Prabhu Srinivasan bought the club from the outspoken Martin Hellier, who led the Somerset side back to the National League but alienated the fanbase following a series of increasingly vitriolic rants. It's little wonder, then, that Srinivasan, who made the controversial decision to relocate Yeovil's training ground and move out of the town at the beginning of the summer, is targeting "calm and sustainable" growth this season.

While Pools looked to have enjoyed a strong summer of recruitment, welcoming 12 new signings and strengthening all over the pitch, there has been a marked absence of calm in the North East. The latest in a long list of bizarre and dramatic developments sparked at the beginning of the week when it came to light that Singh had written to National League clubs asking that former Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling, a lifelong Pools fan, no longer be afford dignitary status following his resignation from his role as club president in May. Singh added that, "In the unlikely event that Mr Stelling independently attends any Hartlepool United fixture at your home ground, I'd further request that you consider to seat Mr Stelling separately to any HUFC dignitaries or staff." Stelling, in turn, responded on his talkSPORT breakfast show, insisting that he had planned to attend Saturday's game on the terraces with his fellow Pools fans, while Hartlepool's Labour MP Jonathan Brash wrote to National League clubs to "respectfully request that Mr Stelling is afforded the warm welcome and courtesy he rightfully deserves". Pools responded with a statement of their own, accusing Stelling of making "unfounded accusations" in the wake of his resignation as club president but insisting that Singh had not asked clubs to ban him from their boardrooms, merely "not to allocate Mr Stelling dignitary places or seating". In a week that should be all about the football and what looks to have been a genuinely positive pre-season for Pools, many fans were left frustrated that off-field issues once again cast a shadow over the club's recent progress.

Pools will now surely be keen to put the latest furore behind them as they look to make a winning start to their new National League campaign against a Yeovil side who are bidding to improve on last term's 18th placed finish. After a slightly slow start to their summer business, the Glovers have welcomed a raft of new signings in the last week, including goalkeeper Jed Ward, who impressed on loan at Forest Green Rovers last season, teenage forward Ben Wodskou, former Bristol Rovers midfielder Luck McCormick as well as experienced striker Junior Morias.

"It's a long trip for us, but you've got to go at some point," Grayson told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"I know Mark Cooper well, he'll have his team set up well, they've recruited quite a few new bodies in the last few days. The hardest part for any manager with this first game is knowing exactly how the opposition are going to play. We all have an idea of what people might do, but everybody's chopping and changing in pre-season. We've got a rough idea, we're concentrating on what we need to do but we're respectful of the opposition as well. They'll be desperate for a positive start, but we certainly are as well and if we can go down there and get the same result as we did last year then we'll be more than delighted."

Your next Hartlepool United read: Grayson determined to deliver "something special" ahead of new NL season