Paul Watson exit will not be the last, as Hartlepool United's future hangs in the balance

Last week, the Mail exclusively broke the news that head of football operations Watson was set to leave Victoria Park after a controversial two-year stint in the North East.

And Harrison thinks this could just be the beginning of what could prove to be a damaging few weeks for the club as a whole.

“I’m sure he won’t be the last to leave,” said the manager, whose side host Woking at Victoria Park this weekend.

“Paul is part of the club and was part of the interview process when I came in and he was head of recruitment at the time, dealing with contracts and the like.

“But I can’t spend time worrying about those things that go on off the park, wasting my time when I can spend time on something else.”

The Whitley Bay-born football agent’s first business with Pools came when client Josh Laurent arrived at the club. Then, a friendship was brokered with then chairman Gary Coxall of JPNG, and Watson, formerly of agency FullNinety, was brought in on a full-time contract, rather than just in a consultancy role.

Watson is regarded as the catalyst to Pam Duxbury’s arrival at Pools. The pair have a long-standing working relationship, with both on the books at FullNinety in the past.

A hugely divisive figure with fans, Watson remains at Pools for the time being. It is expected he will leave between now and the end of April.

But, as Harrison says, Watson is unlikely to be the last to leave the club.

Redundancies are likely as Pools’ hierarchy eye a restructuring and streamlining after a shocking debut season in the National League.

A more pressing and immediate issue for Harrison, though, is protecting his own future.

And one thing seriously hampering that progress is the transfer embargo, which remains in place.

“It’s one of those situations we have to deal with,” said Harrison. “Players have left who we couldn’t renegotiate contracts with and that’s the sad situation right now. The exit door is well and truly open, the entry door is well and truly closed. That’s the reality.

“There’s nothing as a manager I can do to alter that. I can’t worry about it as I can’t change it.

“I think about wrong decision, tactics, keeping a clean sheet, scoring goals, what we will do training. I think about those important things all the time.”