Exclusive:Former Hartlepool United star Tommy Miller relishing Spennymoor Town return

Former Hartlepool United midfielder Tommy Miller is relishing the opportunity to take charge of National League North club Spennymoor Town for the second time in his career.

The 47-year-old took joint-interim charge of the Moors following the departure of another Pools old boy Graeme Lee in February and helped instigate an upturn in fortunes that kept his side in contention for a play-off spot until the final week of the season. Despite falling short in their bid for a top seven spot, the Moors have now handed Miller the reins on a permanent basis as he returns to the Brewery Field dugout four and a half years after his first spell in charge was brought to an end.

Speaking after his new role was confirmed, the new Moors boss said: “I was looking to get back in but I didn’t know where and you just don’t know when the opportunity will come sometimes. Unfortunately, Graeme lost his job, and Graeme is a good friend of mine so that wasn’t nice to see, but with the connection with the club I got a phone call to come in and steady the ship with Matty Dolan and Gavin Cogdon and I accepted. I was delighted to get back in, it went well, we had some good wins and some disappointing results but, in general, it went alright. That’s credit to the lads, they reacted to our messages and a slightly different style of play, so now we want to work more with them and see where it takes us.”

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Disappointed

Miller is well versed in life with Spennymoor after he spent a number of years working as assistant manager to Moors stalwart Jason Ainsley before being named as his successor on an initial interim basis in January 2021. After an impressive start to his permanent reign during the following season, a dip in form saw Miller’s time in charge brought to an end in December of the same year with his side sitting in mid-table in non-league’s second tier. The former Sunderland midfielder admitted he felt ‘hard done by’ by the decision at the time but understood why it was taken.

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“I was there a long time previously and I learnt a lot about what works and what doesn’t. I was slightly hard done by I believe and I’ve had a conversation with the chairman over this because I felt I didn’t get the time other managers have had. I think the first two months we were top of the league and the next two months didn’t go as well and we dropped into mid-table. It’s not biggest disappointment, we still had a chance of getting in the play-offs but the chairman wanted to change things and I was disappointed but I understood his process.”

Targets

Miller has wasted little time in putting his stamp on the Moors ranks with five players confirmed on the club’s released list and one-year options exercised on the contracts of Ben Beals and Cam Salkeld. There was also confirmation talks are ongoing with the likes of former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad James and Moors club legend Glen Taylor - and Miller has revealed he is also hoping to add some new faces to his squad ahead of their return to pre-season training.

“It’s going to be busy because recruitment is everything,” he explained. “Phone calls have been made with players you want to keep and let go and there’s some really good lads in there. As is football, you want your own type of players and we are working hard on that and there’s quite a clean slate. We are working, we are speaking and we have targets.”

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