Hartlepool United transfers: What Raj Singh, Darren Kelly and John Askey have said on Pools recruitment

John Askey and his team will face up to National League football once again next season after relegation from the Football League, with the Hartlepool boss keen to shape his squad for a positive campaign.

Askey will work alongside sporting director Darren Kelly throughout the summer over the club’s recruitment strategy with chairman Raj Singh recently suggesting there will be an increased budget from when the club were last in the National League back in 2020-21.

But what of Hartlepool’s recruitment plans?

Here’s what some of the key figures at the Suit Direct Stadium have said on the matter:

John Askey

The Hartlepool boss has been quite thorough in his message when highlighting the significance of the club's summer recruitment process as well as the ability to work alongside Kelly.

Askey recently confirmed in a club statement they are in negotiations with a number of out of contract players having recently suggested ‘pace’ and ‘athleticism’ as two of the key attributes he will be looking for.

"As soon as the Barrow game was over we knew where we were so myself and Darren, and one or two other staff, started to look at what we need for next season,” said Askey.

"All I am thinking about is trying to get players in for next season. The only thing that matters is trying to get Hartlepool back into the Football League, so we’ll try our best to get players in where we’re going to compete.

"Until you’ve got the players in that you want, where there’s a balance in the squad with players who are able to compete at whatever level you are, then you just keep working until hopefully you get it right.

“We’ve seen this year that the recruitment for the league we were in needed to be better. So it’s important now that me and Darren get players in that are going to suit the way we want to play.

"We’re not going to have the biggest budget in the league but we’re going to have a competitive budget and with the players we’ve got, I believe they’re more than capable to compete in the National League.

"So if we can add one or two to it then hopefully we can get off to a decent start and you never know what happens then.”

Askey has also suggested the club should not be forced into selling any of their potential assets, such as defender Dan Dodds or striker Josh Umerah, but that the club are looking to move one or two contracted players on before the new season.

"I don’t think the club needs to sell players,” said Askey.

"I think somebody like Dan Dodds is a real asset to the club and hopefully he has two or three years with the club and develops as the club develops.

"There’s one or two players who are signed that we’re trying to move on because we need more athleticism in the team. We need more pace in the team.

"It won’t be a huge overhaul but, where we can, we’re obviously trying to bring in better players, but time will tell. I’ll be doing my best to try and get a winning team for Hartlepool and hopefully I’m the right person to do that.

"Recruitment is everything,” added Askey.

"It’s important you do your due diligence on people before they come into the football club. They might be good players but if you can’t get them onto the pitch, or they’re bad characters around the dressing room, then they’re no use to you.

"Sometimes you’re better off having players with slightly less ability, who’ve got the character and want to win and play for the club, but you’ve got to do your due diligence and hopefully between me and Darren, whoever we sign, we find out about them before they sign.”

Darren Kelly

In an interview with Hartlepool’s club website upon his appointment as sporting director, Kelly outlined how the recruitment process will likely work between himself and Askey.

“When it comes to the summer window, and the January window, it’s effectively about putting presentations on,” said Kelly.

"We’ll always have discussions around how we can strengthen the team but it will be about sitting down and putting presentations on to John with regards to players we’re looking to potentially bring into the club and supporting his needs.

"John is a very experienced manager with a very proven track record. I’ve seen the jobs he’s done previously with the likes of Port Vale and York City where you can see first hand what he does and how he brings on teams.

"John will look after the team and all that side of it and I’ll just be in the background with anything he needs. We’ll work closely to achieve that.

"The main thing is trying to take the club forward in every aspect in each challenge.”

Raj Singh

Although Singh is looking for potential new owners at the Suit Direct Stadium, with the club now up for sale, the Hartlepool chairman will continue to support Askey over the summer.

"I think there’s a feeling around the town, and amongst the fans, that John is the right person,” Singh explained in a club interview.

"We thought we had the recruitment side better with Darren coming in, that’s where we fell short [last summer].

"The budget is going to be round about 25 per cent higher than the budget which got us up [in 2021].

"Again, I’ve said it a million times, we had £1.7million to spend this year. Where has that got us? It’s all about spending the budget correctly.

"But the budget is going to be higher and we feel that’s going to be good enough to get some good players in the National League and compete.”

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