Great Escape boss Ronnie Moore is open to Hartlepool United return

Financially stricken Pools are looking to appoint a new manager after Craig Harrison was sacked with the club just three points above the National League relegation zone.

Great Escape boss Moore has sympathy for Harrison and is saddened by the club’s plight on and off the pitch.

Moore insists he isn’t begging for a return but would be open to the challenge should the hierarchy want to speak to him.

“They need some experience, no disrespect to young lads coming through,” Moore told SportMail.

“People will say I’m begging for a job - I’m not - it’s just my view having had over 40 years experience in the game as a player, coach, manager that the club needs an experienced manager.

“It’s a huge challenge. You put a young kid in charge and it is a recipe for disaster, there are loads of experienced managers out there who could do a job there.

“It is a youngish squad, they don’t have a winning mentality. You need experience and your senior pros to come to the fore.

“They have to dust themselves down, get out there and give what they can for the supporters, the town, the club and make sure you stay in that league on points and that if the worst happens a points deduction doesn’t take you out of the league.

“I’m sat at home doing nothing but I’m not begging for a job on my hands and knees, I am out of work but I have all that experience.

“If they want me to come in and help, then great. I don’t want to put my feet up, I want to be involved in football - I’m no good at golf.

“I love the coaching, the training, the banter, the winning, you don’t like losing but it is all part and parcel of it. When we stayed up, to me that was like winning the FA Cup or the Premier League - survival can give you the same buzz.

“I want to get back involved in the game. Everybody seems to think you get to 65 and you are a dinosaur, I am a level 5 coach, its as high as you can get,” added Moore, priced at 16/1 with bookmakers.

Moore has sympathy for Harrison, who was appointed manager last summer following relegation from League Two.

“No one likes to see another manager lose his job, there is nothing worse, it is terrible,” added Moore.

“You are governed by your results but it is a shame it has happened for Craig, it has been a torrid time for the club not just on the pitch but off it too.

“It is in a terrible state, the last thing you want is administration, losing ten points and going out that league.

“I feel for any manager who loses their job but you are judged by your results, it is a real pity for him.

“The problems off the pitch, somebody else has to deal with that, as the manager you can’t do an awful lot about it.

“You have to make sure the coaching is right, the physicality of the team is right and they all understand and buy in to what you are trying to do.

“That was the reason we managed the Great Escape,” added Moore.

Moore also had praise for the efforts of Hartlepool United fans who helped ensure the February home fixtures could be fulfilled thanks to a huge fundraising drive.

Pools fan Rachel Cartwright set up the Just Giving page and in total an incredible £85,190 was raised online from 3,137 separate donations.

Moore added: “The Pools fans are unbelievable. What they have been watching for the last few years hasn’t been brilliant on the pitch yet they still come in their numbers.

“I was there for the Wrexham game recently, there was more than 6,000 fans there. If you can’t perform when there are that many people in the ground then there is something not right.

“They want to see a winning team, they don’t care how you do it. The supporters deserve a lot more.”