FANS WILL SEE US THROUGH!
Spirit of Pools is key, says Challinor
DAVE Challinor says weaponising Hartlepool’s fanbase has been key to transforming the club’s spiralling fortunes.
Relegated from League Two on the final day of the 2017-18 season, Pools have never threatened a return to the EFL.
When a third season of mediocrity beckoned, manager Craig Hignett paid the price. United lay 16th on the day Hignett was sacked, but Challinor’s arrival – a month after parting company with AFC Fylde – has sparked a genuine challenge for promotion.
And even if Coronavirus robs Hartlepool of their chance to gatecrash the top seven, Challinor says the newly-forged bond between terrace and dressing room can power Pools to glory next year.
“I actually don’t think there were any huge issues when I walked in here,” said the former Tranmere and Bury defender, who won three promotions at the helm of AFC Fylde.
“I just think that the nature of the recruitment and the way the team was set up didn’t fit the ethos of the club. It didn’t marry up with the supporters’ attitude to football.
“They’re an unbelievable set of fans here, massively passionate and tribal about their football team. I just felt that it wasn’t being harnessed and used as an advantage. To do that you’ve got to get them involved. Give them something. That means more intensity. Playing on the front foot. Not allowing teams to come to the Vic and dictate the tempo of the game.
“To do that we had to change how we train and understand whether the players were actually capable. To be fair they’ve proven they are.
“Supporters are quite easy, really. All they want to see is lads running their proverbials off for the team and giving everything they’ve got. If you get results as well, you quickly build a bond and I think that’s what you’re seeing now. The whole club just seems to have come together.”
Challinor also feels his cause has been aided by Pools fans finally shaking off lingering disillusionment at plummeting out of the EFL for the first time in their 109-year history.
“I remember coming up here with Fylde in their first season down,” recalls the 44-year-old. “It was August and, at that point, the supporters were still a little bit disbelieving. They were like ‘What’s gone wrong? What are we doing here? We shouldn’t be playing at this level’.
“But you have to get over that because there’s no room for airs and graces in the National League. Little clubs have no respect for big names. They’ll thrive on going to a big club like Hartlepool, taking them on and beating them.
Principles
“We won 2-0 that day and I said then there’d probably be a bit more pain to go through here.
“It takes time to find your level and come to terms with it before you can really start to build things. But I think the club is there now. We’ve got the supporters and the town engaged and brought back a bit of hope.
“Can we go up this season?
That’s a big ask. We’re in with a shot, but regardless of what happens I think we’ve managed to bed in some principles that will carry over into next year. That’s what it’s all about for us.”
In the meantime, however, Challinor can only wait to see when – or if – the National League restarts.
“We trained on Tuesday, then sent them off with GPS and a training plan,” he says. “They’ll be back in on Tuesday but the way things are progressing – daily and even hourly – that could change. Until there’s some certainty in terms of a start date, it’s pretty much impossible to plan ahead.”