Hartlepool United's Tom Crawford keen to learn from ex-Celtic and Hearts midfielder

Crawford has made a bright start to pre-season under the former Celtic and Hearts midfielder after adding to his goal against Billingham Synthonia with a positive display in the win over Marske United earlier this week.

Crawford was forced off early in Pools’ opening pre-season fixture against Hibernian as part of the club’s warm weather training camp where he also featured as an impromptu striker for Hartley.

But while Crawford’s role will naturally transition back into more of a midfield position following the addition of striker Josh Umerah, Crawford has been impressed by new manager Hartley and believes he will only learn more from the 45-year-old who has featured in the Champions League and been capped 25 times by Scotland.

“He speaks to you and he demands a lot from you,” said Crawford.

“He talks to you and lets you know what he wants from you so it’s good to have that one-to-one relationship with him where you’re getting advice from him constantly.

“He’s played at the top level, so you can only take it on board and improve your own game.”

Crawford penned a new two-year deal at the Suit Direct Stadium back in April and is keen to see his game progress this year having helped Pools secure their League Two status last season.

And the midfielder admits he has enjoyed his more advanced role during the early part of pre-season.

“It’s good to be fair, it’s a bit different from my normal position so I’ve just got to get used to it and keep working on it in training and hopefully get better at it, but I’m enjoying it,” he said.

Crawford is expected to feature against Lincoln City this weekend as Pools’ preparations step up ahead of their season opener at Walsall later this month.

And the 23-year-old is expecting the hard work to continue under Hartley right up to the start of the season.

“It’s tough, there’s a lot of blisters and things like that but we’ve done the work and I imagine the work will continue in training.

“The opposition gets tougher as we go on, that’s what pre-season is all about. Then hopefully we can kick on for July 30.”