Hartlepool United's new acting executive director Martin Jesper reflects on an 'eye opening' first month at the club and the biggest challenge that needs addressing

The former Darlington chief executive was appointed at Pools at the start of June shortly after the departure of the club’s former CEO Mark Maguire.

Hartlepool has effectively been non-operational since the end of March with its skeleton staff set-up all furloughed and no revenue being generated as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown of football.

Jesper is the man tasked to help guide the club through the uncertainty and financial hardship by taking the reins in preparation for football’s return – a date for which remains unclear.

He has spent the first month ‘picking up the pieces’ at the club as well as holding conversations with various stakeholders and supporters to help get the ball rolling once again at Victoria Park.

While recognising the various challenges Pools are facing, Jesper remains upbeat about the club’s future.

“It’s been an eye-opening month, it’s been interesting and there are an awful lot of positives around the club that I can see already,” he told The Mail.

“At the same time, there is also an awful lot of work that we need to do to re-establish the club’s identity and credibility with the supporters and the wider community.

“There’s a lot to do, but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.”

In addition to being a chartered accountant and Darlington’s CEO, Jesper previously helped Scottish side Hearts start the transition into fan ownership as the club’s Head of Strategic Developments – credentials he feels will bode well for him at Pools as he aims to preserve its long-term future.

“I was offered the opportunity to come to Hartlepool and I took it because I see a lot of potential at the club,”

“I think my credentials will allow me to do what is required and what is needed to be honest.

“I’ll be looking at the long term development of the club rather than just lurching from one match to another or season to season, we need to take a step back and look at what the broader club represents to the people and make it happen around that. That naturally fits into what I’ve done at other clubs as well.”

Jesper’s title as ‘acting executive director’ opposed to chief executive has caused some confusion over how long his spell at Hartlepool will be due to the implication that it could only be a temporary position.

Keen to clear things up, Jesper said: “I agreed with the chairman that while there is uncertainty over when matches will start, I will continue to do what needs to be done at the club.

“There is no staff here at the moment so committing to the role full-time straight away would have been the wrong thing to do.

“We’ll look at it again when once we get closer to the start of the season. There’s nothing in it at all other than someone needs to hold the reins while all this uncertainty from Covid is about.”

With little going on, communication coming out of United has been limited to sporadic statements over the past few months.

Jesper’s first public address since his appointment came last week as the club issued a statement providing an update on the situation regarding season tickets and how many things will be dictated by a clear restart date for the National League being set.

Amidst all the disruption and complexity caused by the Covid-19 crisis, the acting executive director feels that his biggest challenge at Hartlepool is something far more simple.

“At the moment, there is massive uncertainty surrounding everything and what we can and can’t do,” Jesper continued.

“Assuming we’ll be able to crack on with matches in the foreseeable future then I think the most important thing for us is communication with the supporters and engagement with the community.

“I’ve spoken to an awful lot of people so far; supporters, sponsors, suppliers, staff, you name it and I think over the last 10-years or so, a common theme is that the club has let its connection with its supporters drift away.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to, it hasn’t been about football and what’s happened on the pitch, it’s all been about the club’s identity and the club’s image which speaks volumes about the kind of relationship we need to establish with our supporters and the wider stakeholder base as well.

“We need to reestablish that credibility with the club being at the heart of the town.”

For Hartlepool, years of turmoil and underperforming has ultimately left some fans disenchanted, particularly following the club’s relegation to non-league football for the first time in its history back in 2017.

But Jesper is hoping to use the current uncertainty surrounding the club as an opportunity to help get the community back on board.

“I can see so many positives about the club but I have to be realistic about what the situation is at the club and it’s not all down to the last three or four months, it’s actually some deep-rooted issues going back 10-years plus about how the club has operated and caused the loss of its identity and credibility in the community.

“I’m sure there are exciting times ahead but there is a lot of work to do in the meantime.”

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