John Askey reveals Hartlepool United attraction and how close he was to going elsewhere

Hartlepool chairman Raj Singh wasted little time in finding a replacement for manager Keith Curle after making the tough decision to axe his former manager.

Within 24-hours of the decision, former York City boss Askey was appointed and was in place to take his first game at the Suit Direct Stadium against Walsall.

Askey had been out of work since his shock exit from the Minstermen earlier in the season and when detailing how the move to the North East came about he suggested that he was close to joining another club before being enticed with league football, despite Hartlepool’s precarious position.

“League football was a big pull. I know it’s in a dicey position, but I wanted the challenge to see whether I could help keep the club up and help the players,” said Askey.

“It all happened so quickly. I was going to another club but I got a phone call late on Wednesday. I spoke and said if we can do something I would like to come.

“It’s a challenge. If we can do it, then the club can go on.

“With what you’ve got, the players you’ve got, the facilities. There’s no reason why you can’t. It’s going to be hard initially, but if we can do that then I can see next season we could compete.

“That’s hopefully what happens,” he added.

“I can’t think about anything other than that. If the worst did happen then you have to look at it then.

“But if we can manage to do it, it would be exciting times again. I think it would probably give everybody the kick up the backside that’s needed to go again.”

Askey is under no illusions as to the task facing him with Hartlepool currently only one place above the relegation zone as we head into the final quarter of the season.

And Askey was keen to highlight the work of those players and staff who helped Hartlepool return to the Football League in 2021 before stressing the importance of not letting that work go to waste.

“It’s vital. There’s a lot of hard work gone into getting the club back to where it should be,” said Askey.

“The fan base is very good, they’re passionate about their football club. It’s a big part of the community and I understand that. To let it slip after working so hard to get where they are would be a shame.

“We all know, once you go into the National League, how hard it is to get back out. There’s a lot of big ex-league teams who are in that league so we need to put everything into doing our best to stay up.

“That’s the message to the players. There’s one or two players from previous when they got up so the players here now need to know that.”