New Hartlepool United boss feels Pools "in a much better place" than when he first took charge

The 37-year-old was named permanent Pools manager on Friday following a remarkably successful spell in caretaker charge, leading his side on a seven-match unbeaten run in the National League.

The impressive turnaround in both results and performances is all the more commendable given the dire run of just one win in 11 games Pools were enduring when former boss Simon Grayson was sacked.

Yet it hasn't been all plain sailing for Featherstone, who endured a nightmarish start to life in the dugout as Pools were dumped out of the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage by Northern Premier League Premier Division outfit Gainsborough Trinity in his first game at the helm.

However, Featherstone managed to turn things around in next to no time, with Pools revitalising their faltering play-off hopes and moving up to eight in the National League.

With the exception of last month's win over Eastleigh, which Featherstone hailed as the best display of his tenure so far, performances have, for the most part, been more battling than brilliant, although challenging conditions as well as the pitch at Victoria Park, so often a point of contention of late, haven't made things easy.

Even so, there have been signs of what the new boss called "a Nicky Featherstone team" could look like, providing the club's third highest appearance-maker of all-time is given the time to make his mark.

Time, as is well known in the North East, is not something most Hartlepool United managers tend to be afforded, particularly since divisive chairman and owner Raj Singh took charge in 2018.

Indeed, of Singh's 13 permanent appointments prior to Featherstone, only promotion-winning boss Dave Challinor lasted more than a year in the role, while all of the five previous incumbents left after 17 games or fewer.

In fact, Featherstone, who has played under a staggering 20 different managers since first signing for Pools in October 2014, is already under scrutiny ahead of a "review of performance" to determine his fate and, therefore, his future set for the end of the season.

After their unbeaten run was ended by Yeovil on Saturday, Pools can ill-afford too many more slip-ups ahead of a potential banana skin this weekend when Northern Premier League Division One Midlands side Anstey Nomads visit Victoria Park in the third round of the FA Trophy.

Although it might be easy to be sceptical about Featherstone's chances, especially given Singh's notorious lack of patience when it comes to hiring and firing managers, it's worth noting that the new boss appears to have the backing of the fans, the playing squad and, for now at least, the board.

"It's been tough, I didn't know what I'd got myself into after that Gainsborough game," Featherstone told the official Pools club website.

"Slowly, as the weeks have gone on and the games have come, the performances have got better and I think you can see, from both the results and the performances, that something is taking place now.

"I took over in a bad situation, the lads were low on confidence, but they're in a much better place now."

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