Antony Sweeney discusses hectic few days building up to FA Cup tie at Yeovil Town as he remains Hartlepool United caretaker manager

Sweeney was expecting to be in the dugout for the FA Cup first round match at Yeovil Town as new manager Dave Challinor’s coach – not still as caretaker.

Challinor – whose tenure will officially start on Monday – is thought to be overseeing things to a certain extent though Sweeney will continue his duties in what will now be his final game in interim charge.

“It’s been more than a hectic couple of days to say the least so I debriefed the Solihull game on Thursday and had to plan the training sessions at a late stage,” Sweeney said.

“Now the focus changes more towards Yeovil, we have an idea of what we’ll come up against, we’ve had them scouted and played them last month.

“They’re not too dissimilar and play the same shape so we know what their strengths and weaknesses are, it’s just a case of ticking the boxes really.

“I’ve learned this week that football always throws up something unexpected again. One minute I was doing one thing and the next minute there’s a curve ball thrown at you and you’ve got to be prepared.

“When you learn about yourself, you learn about how to think on the spot and act on instinct which will happen over the next 24-48 hours.

“We’ve got staff who we’ll have to rely on but I know that they are fully capable of helping out.”