How Dave Challinor responded to Hartlepool United chairman Raj Singh's recent exit claims and message to Pools supporters

Hartlepool’s fate had already been sealed but, for Stockport, there remained a possibility of promotion.

Former Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor gave applause to all four corners of the ground at full-time – his side, instead, having to chance their arm in the League Two play-offs with Hartlepool destined for the National League.

But the attention surrounding Challinor and Hartlepool again took centre stage heading into the final day fixture, not least due to the revealing comments made by Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh about his former manager in the weeks leading up to the fixture.

Singh had blamed Challinor's exit on where things started to go wrong for Hartlepool following their return to the Football League before diving deeper into things when suggesting Challinor had no desire to remain at the Suit Direct Stadium following promotion in 2021.

Singh explained in a recent club interview: “We had a manager in place who had no intention of staying and it was a case of ‘my stock is high, how do I get the best deal I can wherever I can?’

“It took three months to sort out the contract and I was hearing rumours that he was going behind our backs speaking to Tranmere and Wrexham. So the bottom line is he was never going to stay and that, for me, is where the problem started. There was no harmony behind the scenes.

“When nobody else came in [for him], contracts got signed and two months later he was gone again. We never really recovered from that.”

But when given his opportunity to respond to those claims in an interview with BBC Radio Tees, Challinor refrained from any verbal spat with Singh before going on to acknowledge why Hartlepool supporters may feel aggrieved by his decision to leave for Stockport in November 2021.

“I’ve seen it [the interview]. It’s no real surprise if I’m honest,” said Challinor.

“It doesn’t really bother me. I need to be comfortable in my skin and I need to be comfortable in knowing what I am and what I can do in terms of my family but, ultimately, at the moment the opinions that need to be important to me are the people of Stockport County. That is where things are currently.

"I completely understand the disappointment, animosity and disgruntlement that supporters felt when I moved across here. I continued not to say too much so I get that people have their own opinions.

"Football is all about opinions and they’re quite entitled to that whether they’ve got the truth, part of the truth or none of the truth.”

Challinor continued: “Things moved on. I’ve come into a place where this football club is looking to move forward. We all want to be on that journey and you don’t want to fall off.

“I’ve managed 50 or 60 Football League games. I’m a baby in terms of that. Everything else for me has been in the National League or below so I’ve still got lots of learning to do.

“If this is going to be a League One football club, and it will be at some point, I've got to get better and improve as a manager.

“That’s where my sole focus has to be, not looking at what people’s opinions are of me that really don’t have an impact on my life and my career.

“Since I left the club there’s been lots of things said. I think it’s important from my perspective, and will continue to be the case, to keep my integrity in terms of what I say.

“If other people want to say things, good and bad, that’s opinion based. Whether people are looking to point score then that’s for other people’s opinion if you like.

“But, with real honesty, the last thing I wanted to see was Hartlepool relegated. We worked so hard, with little infrastructure, to make that club a Football League club and for that to be taken away is really, really disappointing.

“Regardless of what people say, it won’t take away from the memories that we made in that two year period.”

This was not the first time in which Challinor has spoken about his disappointment at Hartlepool’s relegation from the Football League, it likely won't be the last.

But the former manager has highlighted the importance of the Hartlepool supporters in their quest for a quick return to the Football League under John Askey.

“There’s huge disappointment because they will look at different things that have gone on in the past couple of years, whether that’s a finger pointed at different people or not,” said Challinor.

“You can finger point at different people but things won’t change so you have to deal with what’s in front of you.

"There’ll be work goes on for John and Sweens in the summer that means they've got to put a squad together that is able to compete in the National League to try and get promoted. You’ve got to try and go and get out and support that.

“Managers will move on. Players will move on. Owners will move on, as the club has found out in the past 10 years. The constant is the football club is not going to change.

“Supporters will remain the constant and if you’re living in the town, a big part of the town is supporting Hartlepool United. They’ll make a huge difference in where the club can potentially get to.

“Think back two years to the run where we went maybe 20 games at home and not lost, and the majority of them we won. That built up momentum.

“You’re going to be judged largely on what you do at home and that will be a large part of what supporters do. They’ll be hurting at the moment, but move on from that and really back what’s happening on the pitch.”

He added: “You look at those 12 months we had and you look at what had happened previously with changing of owners, with relegations, with COVID, it felt like a moment that was the time to kick on.

“What’s happened is it’s almost gone back into what it was and the support has almost got that ‘here we go again’ feeling as though it’s normal for Hartlepool, as a football club, and that’s the biggest disappointment.

“What you have to accept is where you are now and the football club is going to go back into the National League with, hopefully, a solid foundation in terms of John being there. He’s got promotion from that league before with Macclesfield, he’s come in and they’ve had a turnaround in results but you have to build on what you’ve got and accept you are at this level.

“But that football club will always be driven by the fanbase and them getting onside.”