Graeme Lee continues to win over supporters as he discusses the evolving process to his journey as Hartlepool United manager
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Tuesday’s trip to Colchester United is Lee’s 18th game in charge of Hartlepool United, with an additional one taken from the stands at Hillsborough as Pools took on Sheffield Wednesday in the Papa John’s Trophy on the day of his appointment, but can we now say we know what a ‘Graeme Lee side’ looks like?
On the basis of the last month or so you would have to say the answer to that question is yes as the Pools boss continues to win over supporters at the Suit Direct Stadium.
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Hide AdLee’s transition from a back five into a back four has been rewarded with a marked improvement in performances on the pitch as Pools look to be much more threatening going forward while still being able to hold that resilience in defence which has seen them earn a number of clean sheets in Lee’s tenure.
There can often be a danger in football, and in life, where if things don’t seem broken then there isn’t necessarily a need for them to be fixed and that can certainly ring true with Pools.
Under previous manager Dave Challinor, Pools had a formula and a system which worked to enormous effect in that it brought the club back into the Football League where they would continue to hit the ground running.
The opening months of this season exhibited little fear from a Pools side who had spent four years outside of the Football League, instead one relishing the journey back in League Two with Challinor’s implemented tactics and system working a treat.
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Hide AdBut there was always a danger Pools would get found out at some stage in making the jump back up into the Football League.
The higher you climb up the footballing ladder the more streetwise and savvy teams and coaches become and Pools found that out through the midway point of the season.
Of course there have been extenuating factors, most notably Challinor’s exit in early November, but the desire to evolve and develop as a Football League side has been much-needed and in Lee, Pools appear to be doing just that.
Upon his arrival in December, Lee insisted there wasn’t much to change behind the scenes with his new group of players as, for the most part, things had been working.
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Hide AdAfter all, Challinor’s exit was not down to poor performance with the club hovering in and around the play-off places at that time.
But with five defeats in a row under interim boss Antony Sweeney, and 15 goals conceded, the first task Lee challenged himself with was in shoring up the defence and ending that run of defeats.
In doing so Lee maintained faith in the system Pools had been so familiar with over the 18 months previous, instead just offering words of advice and encouragement here and there where he felt it was needed.
And while results did not improve drastically, in the league at least, there were signs of the club being able to find their feet again after such an uncertain period.
“It was a process when coming in,” said Lee.
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Hide Ad“The first thing I said when I came in was ‘could we tighten up?’ We'd lost five on the bounce so that was my first main process. And you have building blocks from there.
“The wins make a massive difference to how we are but performances have been improving and on the back of them performances we’re starting to get some wins.
“I want us to be exciting and move the ball with runners and we’re starting to get somewhere where I’d like us to be, but the most important thing are those results on the back of that.
“We weren’t a team who were a million miles off,” Lee added.
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Hide Ad“We were a successful team and a club on the up, moving forward.
“The previous manager did a fantastic job and the lads, before him leaving, were winning games and in a good place.
“It was just that transition, you could see it disrupted a lot of things going on. So I said to the lads I'm not coming in to make it all change because what I'd seen on the pitch was good.
“So it was just about tightening them things up and assessing.
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Hide Ad“As time goes on you start seeing areas you want to improve or what we’re lacking and then it’s about can we make them changes? And hopefully we’re starting to get there.”
And there can be no denying Pools are ‘starting to get there’ based on recent weeks.
Lee’s side have gone from having to look over their shoulders to harbouring optimistic hopes of a late run into the top half of the League Two table in the final quarter of the season.
The switch to a 4-3-3, coupled with an impressive January transfer window, have been crucial in the shift in momentum around the Suit Direct Stadium, along with their successful cup runs, and it is something which provides Lee with that room of flexibility when heading into games.
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Hide AdHe now knows he can trust his side in either a back four or a back five to deliver accomplished performances at this level. And with the added quality and flair from the January window Pools now have the ability to take points from games they may not have otherwise done earlier in the season when falling to so many narrow defeats.
There is still plenty of scope for improvement, of which I’m sure Lee is only too aware of. But to come in and replace a manager who brought such cherished memories to the club could not have been easy for Lee and yet he has made the transition impeccably with supporters now very much on board for the ride.