Straight-talking new Hartlepool United boss Darren Sarll vows to create an "open and honest environment" in the dressing room

The 41-year-old, who becomes the 17th man - including caretakers - to take charge of Pools in the last decade, is renowned for being no-nonsense and, at times, brutally honest.

In the first half of last season, Pools all too often seemed to wilt under pressure but became much more steadfast after the January signings of Tom Parkes and Luke Waterfall, leaders of the kind that Sarll should relish.

With captain Nicky Featherstone in negotiations regarding a new deal, Pools already have more characters in their squad than at this time last year.

And Sarll is calling on his players to buy into his straight talking philosophy as he looks to curate a dressing room full of players unafraid to express their opinion.

"Having that belief that you can say something in a place like a changing room, where it should be filled with lots of lots of different types of characters, is an important thing," he said.

"The one thing I can never remember doing as a player is, if a coach said anything to me and I didn't agree, sitting there and not saying anything.

"I'd like to think I'm not a hypocrite so, when players want to come back, I like that.

"I don't see it as disrespect, I just see it as another form of communication.

"The more the players, the staff and the management team communicate, the more in line we'll become with each other's principles and values, which gives us, hopefully, a better product on the pitch.

"Sometimes, it's emotional and it can come off as a bit confrontational - but supporters want emotion. Football's an emotional game, so why wouldn't it be emotional?

"If I shout at, say, Tom Parkes and he shouts back, there's nothing wrong with that. He's a grown man, and this is not a dictatorship.

"They've got to come along with us, they've got to want to come along with us.

"I just see it as character. If Tom, or anyone else, is brave enough to shout at me in front of 5,000 fans, then good for him.

"Winning looks like that - all winning teams have that carefully trodden line that allows for disagreements, and almost a bit of dysfunction.

"In the modern day, we're almost encouraged to not be like that but this is a highly competitive environment.

"If the players care as much as I do, and as much as the supporters do, then the levels of emotion should be the same.

"It's got to be an open and honest environment.

"We've got experienced players, and everyone in that dressing room will have different viewpoints, so we've got to make use of that."