PRESSURE IN HOTSEAT HAS NOT PUT OFF BATES
EX-BORO DEFENDER HOPING TO GET HARTLEPOOL UNITED JOB FULL-TIME
The stresses and strains of life at Hartlepool United have not put Matthew Bates off wanting to be a manager.
In fact, the trials and tribulations at Victoria Park have only succeeded in underlining just how much he wants the Pools job full time.
Bates has been credited with turning around a sinking ship.
Pools, under Craig Harrison, were sliding closer and closer to the National League drop, but under Bates they managed to pull away.
And by the end of the season on Saturday, Pools had managed to open up an eight-point gap to those who dropped out of the division.
Under Bates, and Harrison before him, it has been about much than just the football.
A club with a 110-year history was at risk of going out of business at worst and at best the talk was of motivating a squad, who were at risk of not getting paid.
None of that has put Bates off.
“For me personally, I have enjoyed it,” said the caretaker boss, who is on a four-man shortlist for the managerial post on a full-time basis.
“Going into the job it has given me confidence moving forward. Whatever happens it will look good on the CV.
“It has been hard for everyone. A lot of people have not known what will happen with their futures.
“You try and say the right things to the lads but they have wives and kids at home and they are getting nagged about not paying the mortgage. It has been a rollercoaster.”
Whatever happens now, whether he gets the job or not, Bates believes he has learned a lot in a very short time in the top job at Pools.
A decision on his future is expected this week.
“For me and you I do not think we will ever know a season like this when it comes to football,” he said.
“It has been a learning curve. It is something to look back on. Whatever happens next I have learned a lot.”
Meanwhile, National League North champions Salford City are eyeing a summer move for out-of-contract Pools midfielder Michael Woods.
According to a report in the national press, Woods is at the top of City’s shortlist, having won promotion to the National League.
They could face stern competition from a number of Football League clubs, many of who tried to snap the midfielder up in the January window.
Salford are understood to be offering big money.
Exeter City, who tried to nab Woods in the winter window, are expected to come back in for him, having been told he was unavailable for transfer earlier this year.