Hartlepool United have appointed Pete Wild as their new head coach, two weeks after Lee Clark resigned following a poor start to the National League season.
The 42-year-old takes charge of a side sitting 22nd, in the relegation zone, and his first game is at home to Tamworth on Saturday. On his appointment, Wild described Pools as "a sleeping giant" that shouldn't be in the National League, and said he hoped to bring the good times back to Victoria Park.
He has named Dave Conlon as his assistant, and the pair will work alongside Gary Liddle and Adam Clayton, who took charge of the side on an interim basis.
Clark was appointed in May after a brief spell at Rotherham United at the end of last season, and arrived at a club that had invested heavily over the summer. It didn't come together on the pitch.
He resigned in his post-match interview after a 3-1 home defeat to newly promoted Worthing on 19 September, a third straight loss and a sixth in seven matches. There were boos at full-time, and Clark said he had wanted to give the fans something to be proud of but hadn't been able to. He left having won three of his nine National League games.
Things haven't improved since. Under Liddle and Clayton, Pools lost 4-1 at Scunthorpe United and 1-0 at home to Harrogate Town, extending their run to five straight league defeats.
That leaves them with three wins and eight defeats from 11 games, nine points, and no draws. They have also struggled at the back, conceding 18 goals in their first ten league matches. Will Harris has been one of the few bright spots, with his three goals all coming in recent weeks.
Wild spent around a decade at Oldham Athletic, his hometown club, working his way up through the academy. He first stepped in as caretaker manager in December 2018 and led the Latics to a memorable FA Cup third-round win over Premier League Fulham. After Paul Scholes' brief spell in charge, he returned and was appointed manager until the end of that season.
In the summer of 2019 he moved to FC Halifax Town, where he built his reputation. The Shaymen finished sixth, 10th and fourth in his three seasons, the last ending in a play-off defeat to Chesterfield. Away from club football, he has also managed the England amputee team.
That record earned him a move to League Two Barrow in 2022. He finished ninth and eighth at Holker Street but was sacked at the end of the 2023/24 season, a decision that surprised many.
He replaced Charlie Adam at Fleetwood Town in December 2024 but was dismissed in January this year after six defeats in seven games. He then took interim charge of Tranmere Rovers in March, seeing out the season at Prenton Park.
Wild knows this division well from his time at Halifax, and Hartlepool will be hoping that experience helps. The immediate priority is stopping the losing run and getting the club out of the bottom four.
With 35 games still to play there is time to turn things around, and with the squad the club assembled over the summer, the expectation will be a climb up the table rather than a battle at the bottom.
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