How Hartlepool United can capitalise following an exodus of last season's National League leading goalscorers

Chesterfield's Will Grigg, who notched 25 league goals, and Bromley's Michael Cheek, who scored three times against Pools last season, will step up to League Two after their sides won promotion. Grigg scored 12 goals in his final 14 games while Cheek bagged a brace in the play-off final at Wembley, also scoring his side's first penalty in the shootout as the Ravens edged past Solihull Moors.

Chris Conn-Clarke, who scored 22 goals from midfield for Altrincham, has signed for League One side Peterborough, while Marcus Dinanga, who failed to score in 17 games while on loan at Pools in 2018 but found the net 19 times for Gateshead last season, is set to form a formidable partnership with Cheek after he signed for Bromley.

Aldershot skipper Lorent Tolaj, meanwhile, who bagged 19 league goals in 44 games, has swapped Hampshire for League Two outfit Port Vale.

Eastleigh's Paul McCallum, who topped the charts with 31 goals in 38 games, and Nicke Kabamba, who registered 25 goals in 42 appearances for runners-up Barnet, remain at their National League clubs. Kabamba signed a new deal with the Bees while McCallum remains under contract at the Silverlake Stadium.

Ironically, Dinanga and Kabamba, who scored a combined 44 goals last term, both had far less prolific spells at Victoria Park - between them, the pair managed 14 goals in 62 games in the North East.

From a Pools perspective, all eyes remain on Mani Dieseruvwe, whose 23 league goals last term made him just the fourth Pools player to reach the 20 goal milestone in a single campaign in the last 50 years.

Pools are said to be confident of keeping hold of the 29-year-old, who has another year on his contract at Victoria Park and appears to have relished being the main man since signing from Halifax last summer.

If Sarll is indeed able to call upon Dieseruvwe come August 10th, then the new boss will boast one of the most threatening front lines in the National League.

Joe Grey, who scored 13 goals last season and formed a fruitful partnership with Dieseruvwe, could be in line for another progressive campaign while new recruit Adam Campbell, who won promotion to League One with Crawley last term, represents a real coup for the club.

Sarll can also call upon fellow new face Luke Charman, who enjoyed a prolific spell with local rivals Gateshead, as well as teenage attacker Max Storey and the enigmatic Anthony Mancini, whose future is, admittedly, slightly more uncertain.

Pools, then, look well-stocked in terms of firepower and have an advantage on some of their National League rivals, who will be hurriedly looking to replace the goals lost with the departures of their leading men.

With Wrexham, Notts County and Chesterfield, who dominated the division across the last two campaigns, all back in the Football League, the fifth tier looks wide open ahead of the new season.

Barnet, who finished second and have made a plethora of new signings, are tipped to do well again while last season's beaten play-off finalists Solihull Moors, who lost impressive midfield Joe Sbarra to Doncaster, and relegated Forest Green Rovers, who look to have completed a number of shrewd bits of business, are expected to be up there.

Even so, Pools, who finished an underwhelming 12th last season, must surely feel confident about their prospects of, at least, pushing for the play-offs.

With a number of sides scrambling around for a new goalscorer, Sarll can relax and turn to Dieseruvwe and Grey, who accounted for almost half of his side's league goals last term and can be expected to do the business again next season.

Adam Campbell, in particular, is expected to provide a real threat and is capable of both scoring and creating goals, so supporters can feel optimistic that their side will better last season's total of 70 National League goals, which made them the fourth lowest scorers in the top half.

The point is that Pools can call on tried and tested firepower while the likes of Altrincham, Aldershot and Gateshead, who all finished in the top eight but do not have huge financial pulling power, will have to uncover a new goalscorer.

That provides Pools with a real opportunity - if Sarll can strengthen in a number of other key areas, with a goalkeeper, a winger, a creative midfielder and a back-up striker all likely to be under consideration, then his side could have a real chance of gatecrashing the top seven.

If Pools can continue to recruit well, harness the support of one of the National League's largest and most dedicated fanbases and take advantage of some of their rivals' need for a new leading man, then there's no reason Sarll and his side cannot compete towards the top end of the table next term.