Raj Singh confesses to 'shocking' Hartlepool United mistakes as club continues battle against relegation

Singh has been outspoken on occasion this season having twice made the decision to part company with his manager.

The Hartlepool chairman admitted to the decision behind Keith Curle's sacking as one of the toughest he has had to make since taking over at the Suit Direct Stadium whilst admitting to mistakes prior to that with summer appointment Paul Hartley - a manager he has since admitted to not being familiar with following his departure from the club.

And it is the business which took place in the summer Singh has again alluded to in his latest address to supporters ahead of the 1-1 draw with Northampton Town at the Suit Direct Stadium.

After appointing John Askey and his assistant, Mark Goodlad, Singh also took the decision to appoint a sporting director with the arrival of Darren Kelly from Newport County as he looks to eradicate what he calls ‘shocking’ errors at the start of the season.

“It’s not rocket science to work out where things have gone wrong and why we have been chasing our tails from the first day of this season,” Singh wrote.

“Our manager appointment and recruitment were shocking during the close season and, as chairman, I have got to take responsibility for that and try to retrieve and rectify our position.

“In that respect, we have brought in Darren Kelly as sporting director. He will have full responsibility for the recruitment going forward.

“I would like to welcome Darren to the club and, while there are no guarantees in football and only time tells you how good you have been with any appointments, I truly hope I’ve got it right with John, Mark and Darren in the last couple of weeks.

“As I’ve said many times before, mistakes were made in the summer by a lot of people at the club and maybe everyone got carried away on a reasonably successful first season back in the Football League and thought it was going to be really easy this season.

“I’ve got my thoughts and opinions on what and where we went wrong. Whilst I can’t come out publicly and share those views, I’m trying to fix those now.”

Askey's appointment saw him become Singh’s fifth permanent manager in little under 18-months since the club returned to the Football League but is, perhaps, faced with the biggest challenge in securing the club’s EFL status.

But while Singh has acknowledged mistakes, and has taken responsibility for the current situation the club finds itself in, the Hartlepool chairman issued a rallying cry ahead of the relegation run-in.

Singh wrote: “We are all upset and hurting at the moment. We are holding on to every little lifeline that gets thrown our way.

“We have got to stay positive and not get on the teams’ or individual players’ back as that will only have a negative effect.

“As hard as it may be at the moment, we’ve got to give the team our vocal support and give the club the best chance of staying in this league.”