Owner issues are nothing new - positivity is the key

SIMON Grayson is no mug. After 784 games, four promotions and an abundance of boardroom drama, he knows exactly what he's walked into at Hartlepool United.

- By CHRIS DUNLAVY

"I'm not wet behind the ears," says the 55-year-old, whose appointment last month came against a backdrop of internal turmoil that has seen unpopular owner Raj Singh accused of reneging on a deal to sell the club to local businesswoman Shelley Hammond.

"I've spoken to a lot of people. I've been told the story behind certain things. I've listened to a lot of background noise from people who don't necessarily know what's going on. And, ultimately, I decided that this job was the right fit regardless of what's been going off around here."

What's been going off is civil war. Singh's seven-year reign was initially successful, his takeover in 2018 averting administration and the subsequent appointment of Dave Challinor as manager yielding an unexpected promotion to the EFL.

Since Hartlepool's return to the National League in 2023, however, the atmosphere at the Vic has soured.

Successive mid-table finishes have seen supporters accuse Singh of lacking ambition, failing to communicate and ignoring prospective buyers. Celebrity fan Jeff Stelling even resigned as club president over what he described as the "intolerable" treatment of both fans and Hammond's consortium.

Singh, meanwhile, resigned as chairman and withdrew funding in March, only to return two months later following a self-initiated supporter poll in which he had effectively threatened administration.

All told, it is hardly the sort of environment that begets success but, as Grayson points out, it is also nothing he hasn't seen before.