Hartlepool United chairman Raj Singh calls for patience

Singh has invested significantly in the club since taking over in 2018, allowing manager Craig Hignett to put together a plentiful squad of 23 senior players for the 2019-20 campaign with a playing budget thought to be around £700,000.

Things haven't exactly gone to plan so far with three defeats from their opening five National League matches as well as a mounting injury list.

Over 3,000 season tickets have been sold yet they are still yet to see a win at Victoria Park so far this season with a draw, two defeats and eight goals conceded.

Singh has been asking questions in regard to the troubled start but also recognises that Pools' transition isn't something that will happen overnight.

"It’s like anything, when you’re trying to build something big it takes time," the United chairman told the Hartlepool Mail.

"We all knew we had a lot to prove to people and try and convince people to show where we are different compared to what they’ve had in the last three, four, five years.

"That was always going to take it’s time and be a slow process. The club's first season in the National League was likely to end badly because it was built on soft foundations, money was thrown at the problems and wasted.

"Our aim last season was to stabalise the club from a business point of view first and foremost.

"I think we’ve achieved that to a certain extent but as I keep telling people, we haven’t achieved anything in a footballing sense.

"We are on a sound footing now and we have set about building a squad that should get us challenging towards the top this season.

"At the end of the day the football club is exactly that, it’s a football team and what happens on the pitch over the coming season is what ultimately matters to the fans. The key is not to panic and keep supporting the team even when results aren't going our way.

"Off the pitch we're getting there but on it there is still a long way to go."