Hartlepool United keeping coy on managerial appointment following reports that a deal has been 'agreed' with former Newcastle United and Arsenal coach Andy Woodman as Bromley release statement

Pools have been searching for a permanent replacement for Dave Challinor following his departure for Stockport County last week.

Woodman has been a front runner from an early stage and reports from Football Insider and Football League World had claimed that the 50-year-old has agreed terms to succeed Challinor at Victoria Park.

But the Bromley boss did take training at Hayes Lane on Thursday morning and is expected to remain in charge for Saturday’s National League fixture against, you guessed it, Challinor’s Stockport side.

And Bromley then released a statement on Thursday evening addressing the speculation, confirming “no official approach has been made” and that Woodman remains ‘fully committed’ to Bromley.

Chairman Robin Stanton-Gleaves added: “Although it remains unclear where this disappointing and unsubstantiated speculation has come from, I wish to clarify our position and keep supporters informed.

“I am extremely pleased with the progress made under Andy’s leadership and he remains fully committed, with my continued support, to his role as manager of Bromley Football Club.”

It remains to be seen how the manager hunt will develop over the coming days, with Woodman still currently the red hot favourite at 1/20 with SkyBet to become the next Pools manager, meanwhile BetVictor have suspended betting.

Still, Hartlepool chief operations officer Stephen Hobin was keen to keep all the speculation under wraps as he told The Mail: “It’s not for me to comment on that, it’s down to the chairman really.

“The chairman will make that decision when he’s ready but we’ve had lots and lots of interest and there are lots of names you will have heard of.

“There are only 92 jobs in the Football League and Premier League and one of those is ours which always attracts a lot of interest. The process is going as smoothly as it can.

“The chairman is the person who will make those decisions and he’s got people around him that provide support with that. We’ve got Adrian Bevington in who is very experienced, Lee Rust on the board and myself very hands on in the day to day running of the club.

“The process is like it is at any other football club really. You have speculative enquiries from agents, managers out of work or ones looking to step up. The process has been as professional and seamless as you’d expect at this level of football. The chairman will make those decisions in due course with our support.”

Antony Sweeney is expected to remain in caretaker charge for Friday night’s match against Newport County (7:45pm kick-off) and the FA Cup first round replay at Wycombe on Tuesday evening.

The Pools legend has been in holding the fort since Challinor’s departure and has impressed Hobin.

“There is no timescale and there is no rush because we’ve got Antony Sweeney in who is doing a great job and the players trust him,” Hobin added.

“He knows the club inside out and without Sweens we may have had our hand forced into a decision and make an appointment but at the moment we’re just taking our time to bring the right person in.”

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