Hartlepool United chief executive Mark Maguire reveals how new manager Dave Challinor made a great first impression

Mark Maguire the Chief Executive of Hartlepool United pictured at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Wednesday 30th May 2018 (Photo: Mark Fletcher | Shutter Press)

Maguire felt that the former AFC Fylde manager impressed from the very first meeting as he quickly quashed any doubts the club may have had.

Challinor will be officially unveiled as the new Hartlepool manager on Monday with caretaker Antony Sweeney remaining in charge for Saturday’s trip to Yeovil.

“The first time we met him, from my experience of this league and the chairman’s gut feeling of where we are, there’s been this nagging doubt that we had come to terms with the job that was required,” said the Pools chief executive.

Pools’ new manager Dave Challinor with Raj Singh and Jeff Stelling during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Solihull Moors at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Tuesday 5th November 2019. (Credit: Tom Banks | Shutter Press)

“We were working on the false assumption regarding the budgets that we were competing against and he just exploded a load of myths.

“He was straight talking about what his budget was at Fylde and what the top players were being paid there which was equitable to what we’re paying here with the way we needed to recruit.

“We’d been under a false apprehension over where we’d finish because of our budget.

“But when Dave started talking about what was achievable, he was just really confident and straight about what was wrong with us and what was needed as well as the fact that he was genuinely excited about the opportunity.

“One of the best things he said was ‘it would be all right to hang out for a Football League job but 75 per-cent of the teams in League Two are just trying to stay up there.

“It’s better to pick a team who has a decent chance of going up where he can go up and compete there than it would but just going straight into one of those jobs where he’s just trying to stay there’.

“That showed an intelligence, a drive and a belief in what we’re about which was really exciting.

“Me and the chairman came away from that meeting really excited and buzzing about it.

“After that it was just about doing the due diligence and making the judgement from that. But from that moment, he was definitely the man that stood out for us.”