List of Hartlepool United F.C. managers
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Hartlepool United Football Club Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They were founded i ...
is an association football club based in
Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
,
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly β€About North East E ...
who currently play in the National League, the fifth level of the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
. This chronological list comprises all those who have held the position of
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
of the
first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...
of Hartlepool United. Each manager's entry includes his dates of tenure and the club's overall competitive record (in terms of matches won, drawn and lost), honours won and significant achievements while under his care.
Caretaker manager In association footballing terms, a caretaker manager or interim manager is somebody who takes temporary charge of the management of a football team, usually when the regular Manager (association football), manager is dismissed or leaves for a ...
s are included, where known, as well as those who have been in permanent charge. Darren Sarll is the incumbent head coach.


History

Fred Priest, who led the team to second in the
North Eastern League The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England. The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although som ...
in the 1909–10 season, was elected as the club's first manager in August 1908. The club was managed by
Cecil Potter Cecil Bertram Potter (born 14 November 1888 in West Hoathly, West Sussex) was a professional manager at Huddersfield Town, Derby County and Hartlepools United. Huddersfield Town won the First Division three times in 1923–24, 1924–25 and 1 ...
when it was named as a founder member of the Football League Third Division North for the 1921–22 season, in which the team finished in 4th position. The club went throughout the period of 1940–43 without a manager due to the Second World War but appointed
Fred Westgarth Fred Westgarth (July 1887 in South Shields, England – 4 February 1957) was an English footballer though he is more renowned for his role as a manager. Career Westgarth was a successful football coach after a playing career achieved little of ...
in August 1943. Under the management of Angus McLean, the club won promotion to Division Three from
Division Four The Football League Fourth Division was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season. Whilst the division disappeared in name ...
after finishing in third place in the 1967–68 season. The 1990–91 season saw promotion gained under the management originally of
Cyril Knowles Cyril Barry Knowles (13 July 1944 – 30 August 1991) was a footballer who played left-back for Tottenham Hotspur and England. He was the son of the rugby league footballer; Cyril Knowles, and the older brother of fellow professional footballe ...
and later Alan Murray.


1997–2013

Chris Turner was appointed manager in February 1999 with the club bottom of the Football League following
Mick Tait Michael Paul Tait (born 30 September 1956) is an English former footballer and later a manager at the end of his playing career. His 760 league games puts him 13th in the list of English footballers. His clubs were Oxford United, Carlisle Unite ...
's departure. He proved to be an instant success at
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
, keeping the club two places and three points ahead of the relegation zone. Turner led Hartlepool to three consecutive play-off finishes. However, they lost on each occasion in the semi-finals. In November 2002, Turner left the club for Sheffield Wednesday with the side sitting top of the league. Mike Newell was tasked with securing promotion which he did, albeit missing out on the title to Rushden & Diamonds. The club let Newell go following promotion to the Second Division.
Neale Cooper Neale James Cooper (24 November 1963 – 28 May 2018) was a Scottish football player and coach. He played as a midfielder during the 1980s and 1990s, most prominently for the Aberdeen team managed by Alex Ferguson, and later played for Aston ...
was appointed ahead of the 2003–04 season. He led the club to a 6th place finish, losing in the play-offs to
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
. In the following season, Cooper left the club by mutual consent with the club on the verge of securing a second successive play-off finish. Caretaker manager Martin Scott led Hartlepool into the play-offs where they would lose to Sheffield Wednesday in the
play-off final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
after extra time. Ahead of the 2005–06 season, Scott was named as the permanent manager. However, the club would suffer a relegation back to the fourth tier (now
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
) at the end of the season. Danny Wilson managed the team to an immediate return to League One, promoted in second place. Wilson was sacked in December 2008, with the team in the bottom half of the table. Chris Turner returned to the role, initially as a caretaker manager. He then led Hartlepool to a 19th-place finish in League One at the end of the 2008–09 season, two places and one point above the relegation zone. On 19 August 2010, Turner resigned from his position at Hartlepool. Following the resignation of Turner, Mick Wadsworth was appointed on an interim basis and led Hartlepool to a 16th place finish. He was appointed on a permanent basis ahead of the 2011–12 season but was dismissed in December 2011 following a run of bad home form. On 28 December 2011, Neale Cooper returned to the club. Under Cooper, Hartlepool's form stabilised and he guided them to a 13th-place finish in the 2011–12 season, their highest league finish since 2004–05. After a poor run of form at the start of the 2012–13 season, Cooper resigned as Hartlepool boss in late October after a defeat at Bury. John Hughes was appointed as the new manager in the midst of a 20-match-run without a win. Despite an upturn in form that earned him a Manager of the Month award, Hartlepool were relegated to
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
. Hughes publicly stated his desire to remain at the club, but he was sacked on 9 May 2013.


2013–2018

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Colin Cooper became manager and led the club to a 19th place finish in League Two. Cooper resigned as Hartlepool United manager with the club at the bottom of the League Two table early in the following season. In late October 2014, former player Paul Murray was appointed. However, he was sacked following defeat by non-League club Blyth Spartans in the FA Cup, just six weeks after taking the reins at the League Two club. On 16 December 2014,
Ronnie Moore Ronald David Moore (born 29 January 1953) is an English football manager and former player. He has taken charge of several clubs including Rotherham United, Tranmere Rovers and Hartlepool United. He played for many different clubs in a care ...
was appointed as the new manager. Hartlepool were at one stage ten points adrift at the bottom of the Football League and looked certain for relegation, but Moore inspired a revival in form, with the team having a four-match winning streak towards the latter stages of the season, which eventually ensured league survival in the penultimate game at home to Exeter City. On 10 February 2016, Moore left Hartlepool by mutual consent with the club four points above the relegation places. Craig Hignett returned to Hartlepool and led the club to a 16th place finish but departed the club by mutual consent in January 2017 after Hartlepool had won one of their previous nine matches. Dave Jones was announced as the new manager. Jones joined with the North-East club 19th in the table and four points clear of the relegation zone. However, Hartlepool's form deteriorated further, winning only 13 points from a potential 51, and he left the club by mutual consent on 24 April 2017. During Jones' last match in charge of Hartlepool, club president Jeff Stelling urged him to quit, in an impassioned speech on '' Soccer Saturday'', following a home defeat to
Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...
which had placed Hartlepool in the bottom two.
Matthew Bates Matthew David Bates (born 10 December 1986) is an English former football manager and former professional footballer, as well as holding a UEFA B coaching licence. He is currently the assistant manager at Northern Premier League side Whitby T ...
was placed in temporary charge for the final two games of the season. Despite Hartlepool winning their final game of the season against Doncaster Rovers, a late goal from Newport consigned Pools to relegation from the Football League for the first time after joining in 1921. On 26 May 2017, Craig Harrison was appointed as manager of Hartlepool ahead of their first campaign in non-League. Following one victory since late November, Harrison left his position as manager in February 2018. On 21 February 2018, Matthew Bates took temporary charge of Hartlepool again following the dismissal of Harrison.


2018–present

Bates kept Hartlepool in the division and was appointed as permanent first-team manager in May 2018. Craig Hignett returned to Hartlepool in March 2018 as the club's Director of Football. Following the dismissal of Bates in November 2018 after six successive defeats, Hignett took temporary charge of the first team in addition to his role as director of football. Although
Richard Money Richard Money (born 13 October 1955) is an English former footballer and manager who was most recently manager of National League club Hartlepool United. Before this, he managed Cambridge United, overseeing the side's return to the Football Leag ...
took charge in December 2018, he was later moved to a senior position before departing and Hignett was reinstated as first-team manager on 23 January 2019. On 10 October 2019, Hignett was sacked. On 11 November 2019, Challinor was appointed manager of National League side Hartlepool United with the club in 13th place. In his first full season in charge, Challinor guided Hartlepool to a 4th placed finish and a place in the 2020–21
National League play-offs The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...
. On 20 June 2021, Hartlepool defeated
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
in the
2021 National League play-off final The 2021 National League play-off final, known as the Vanarama National League Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match played on 20 June 2021 at the Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol between Torquay United and Har ...
at Ashton Gate Stadium on penalties to return to the Football League. On 24 September 2021, Challinor signed a new three-year contract to remain as manager. On 1 November 2021, Challinor announced his intentions to step down from the position to join National League club Stockport County. After Challinor left, former defender Graeme Lee was appointed as his successor in December 2021. During his five-month spell as manager, Lee led the team to the semi-finals of the
EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...
losing on penalties to Rotherham United and the fourth round of the FA Cup losing away to Premier League side Crystal Palace. However, Lee was dismissed with one game left of the 2021–22 season. It was the downturn in form following the defeat to Rotherham that was citing in Lee losing his job, with the club winning once out of their eleven games following the match. Ahead of the
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season,
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manager Paul Hartley was appointed as the next permanent manager. During the summer transfer window, Hartley signed 16 new players in a major overhaul of the squad. After a winless first nine league matches, Hartley was sacked by Hartlepool following a poor start to the season, with the club in the relegation zone at the time of his departure. Hartley was replaced by Keith Curle the same day, initially as an interim manager. Curle was given the permanent job in December 2022. However, he was dismissed in February 2023.
John Askey John Colin Askey (born 4 November 1964) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of club York City. He is the son of former Port Vale player Colin Askey. Able to play as a winger or as a ...
was appointed manager on 23 February 2023, with the club sitting just one point above the relegation zone but having played four more games than 23rd-place Crawley Town. However, he could not prevent Hartlepool from being relegated to the National League. On 30 December 2023, Askey was dismissed following a downturn of form which had left the club in 17th in the National League at the time of his departure. On 20 January 2024, Kevin Phillips was announced as Askey's successor. Having guided Hartlepool to a 12th place finish, Phillips left after his contract expired at the end of the season. On 27 April 2024, Phillips' departure was confirmed after his contract expired. He was replaced the same day by Darren Sarll.


Key

*All first-team matches in national competition are counted, except the abandoned
1939–40 Football League The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of The Football League. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald ...
season and matches in wartime leagues and cups. *Names of caretaker (or interim) managers are supplied where known, and periods of caretaker-management are highlighted in ''italics'' and marked . Win percentage is rounded to one decimal place. *P = matches played; W = matches won; D = matches drawn; L = matches lost; Win % = win percentage *Statistics are complete up to and including the match played on 20 April 2024.


Managers


References

{{Lists of English football managers Hartlepool United