'Driving around the stadium' - Ex-Celtic star reveals incredible detail of his Hartlepool United transfer snub

The inside story behind Hartlepool United’s pursuit of former Celtic and Hibernian midfielder Scott Allan has been revealed - and just how close he came to signing.

Allan has revealed the story - which Pools fans won’t find funny - of how he left then Pools boss and former Hoops icon Paul Hartley ‘not happy’ with a last minute transfer snub, the details of which saw him turn his car around despite having arrived at the club to sign a deal.

Allan, who was a Celtic player between 2015 and 2019 but spent much of his time out on loan, was speaking on BBC Scotland’s A View From The Terrace programme about how close he came to moving to Pools in 2022, he was available as a free agent having left Hibs.

The now 33-year old, who now plays with Kelty Hearts in League One, wasn’t keen on signing for the National League side who were in England’s League Two at the time. He much preferred to stay in Scotland and a last minute phone call came through that saw him head back up the road to play for Dick Campbell’s Arbroath.

Allan explained: “Paul had expressed interest in me, we had good chats, but personally at that time I wasn't fancying going back down to England. I had a young kid, I liked to watch his football and be a big part of his life, so that was probably the main reason why I didn't.

"At that time, I'm halfway down the motorway and it's one of the only options I've got at that moment in time. As I'm going down, Dick Campbell phones me and, simple question, what can we do? And I said, well, this is what I'm getting here. If you can match that, then we'll see what can happen.

“So I'm now in Hartlepool, I'm driving around the stadium. Hartlepool are texting me, are you here yet? Well, I've been here for an hour, but I'm circling the stadium. Dick Campbell phones me back and obviously we agree a deal. That was an awkward one because I wanted to tell Paul Hartley, but it was very, very awkward. I went phone off and drove back up the road.

"The next day, Paul wasn't happy, and rightly so. I should have handled it better at the time, but I think it was more the trepidation. I just didn't want to go back to England at that stage of my life and Dick Campbell threw in the life support."

The former Scotland under 21 international has represented no less than 14 clubs throughout his career.

While he didn’t reference Allan directly, speaking at the time, Hartley did speak about his wider transfer frustrations. He told the Mail: “It’s part and parcel of football and something you have to try and get used to,” Hartley told The Mail of his transfer frustration.

“You try and get players in and you think you’re close and then it doesn't happen. “So we’ll be trying right up until the last day of the window to try and strengthen that area of the pitch where we need to strengthen.”