Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen admitted he was "relieved" following American businessman and investor Landon Smith's takeover of Hartlepool United on New Year's Eve.

Houchen, whose uncle Keith scored 92 goals in 279 appearances for Pools, has been Tees Valley Mayor since 2017, winning re-election in 2021 and 2024. Like many Pools fans, the 39-year-old admitted to feeling a sense of relief after Raj Singh sold the club following almost eight years at the helm.

Although Singh's legacy is complicated, there was a growing sense among Pools fans that the 61-year-old had taken the club as far as he could while many supporters had opted to stay away from Victoria Park in silent protest at his divisive leadership, leading to a sharp drop in home attendances this season.

On the one hand, Singh stepped in to, in effect, stave-off the looming threat of administration when he first took charge of the club in 2018, with his decisive intervention paving the way for the club's memorable promotion back to the Football League in 2021 via a heart-stopping National League play-off final as well as subsequent runs of the fourth round of the FA Cup, setting up a trip to Premier League Crystal Palace, and the semi-finals of the Football League Trophy.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, whose uncle Keith is a Pools legend, admitted he was relieved after American businessman and investor Landon Smith completed his takeover of Hartlepool United. Picture by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images.

placeholder image — Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, whose uncle Keith is a Pools legend, admitted he was relieved after American businessman and investor Landon Smith completed his takeover of Hartlepool United. Picture by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images.

Even so, a lot of the goodwill Singh had worked so hard to accrue evaporated in the wake of a series of disappointments and bad decisions - an apparent unwillingness to invest in the squad following promotion, the club's failure to keep hold of manager Dave Challinor, the premature sacking of Graeme Lee as well as the appointment of Paul Hartley in the summer of 2022 - that culminated in relegation back to the National League. Since then, the final years of Singh's tenure have been overshadowed by division and discontent among an increasingly fractured fanbase, with Pools burning through managers and limping to successive mid-table finishes.

So, while it's true that Smith, who is the co-founder of real estate company Tailwind Group, represents something of an unknown entity, there are many fans who are relishing the prospect of a potentially brighter future, even if Pools made the worst possible start on the pitch as they were trounced 4-0 by Woking at the weekend.

"I think I'm relieved to be fair," Houchen told BBC Radio Tees Sport. "I think Raj signified not an insignificant amount of time ago that he wasn't wanting to continue to own the club. We've obviously seen false-starts on previous takeovers - it creates turmoil, it creates instability for not just the fans, but the players, the backroom staff and all of those people in the community that live and breathe Hartlepool United Football Club. This finally gives them clarity, it gives them stability.

"I'm not that up to date with the guy who's taken it over (Smith), I know he's a big real estate guy from North America, he does a lot in student accommodation and he's worth a significant amount of money.

"The key thing is, what's his plan for the club? You can have people with lots of money but if they haven't got the right plan or they aren't willing to put the cash in, then what happens? Also, they've got to understand the town and they've got to understand the club, so it will be really interesting to see how that works out.

"I'm pleased it's resolved but there are still unanswered questions about how it's going to pan out because new ownership comes with positives, but it also comes with a bit of uncertainty at the same time."

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