Stockport County’s battle with Jeff Stelling

April 14, 2024 admin Stockport County 0

Hartlepool had fresh challenges without Dave Challinor, , but Stockport County’s decision to hire him resulted in a National League title and promotion.
After Stelling’s reluctant departure, the seasoned Challinor succeeded at County, marking a crucial juncture for the fates of both clubs.
With Challinor gone, County started to rise and made it back to the Football League, but Hartlepool faltered and fell back.

Stockport County’s battle with Hartlepool United and Jeff Stelling for the services of Dave Challinor in 2021 set the two clubs on two completely different paths.

The Hatters were searching for the ideal coach to lead them out of the National League, having just released former manager Simon Rusk of his responsibilities at Edgeley Park.

To the dismay of Hartlepool club president Stelling, Challinor, who was Pools’ boss at the time, immediately emerged as the top target due to his previous success in the league.

Despite the fact that both teams were ready to set off on quite different trajectories, Challinor would be heading to Stockport a few days after the former Sky Sports presenter took to Twitter to voice his confidence in keeping the manager.

County needed experience in the dugout

The Hatters fired iconic former player and manager Jim Gannon in January 2021 and hired Simon Rusk, who had not yet had much experience, as their first manager under new owner Mark Stott.

Rusk had previously held the position of manager of Brighton & Hove Albion U23s, therefore this was his first senior appointment to the position. However, by October of that same year, it was evident that the experiment had gone awry.

The National League was a challenging league to navigate, with only one automatic and one play-off promotion spot. During Rusk’s tenure with the team, it became evident that experience was a prerequisite for the Hatters to return to their former Football League standing.

Challinor was a front-runner for the position; he was the one who had stopped County from moving up to League Two the season before, in front of a smaller audience at Edgeley Park, during the play-off semi-final, and who had gone on to win the final and send Hartlepool to a higher tier.

It appeared difficult for the Hatters, especially Stelling, to acquire a manager who appeared to be performing well at Victoria Park in the higher level, but it would ultimately serve as a clear indication of the team’s intentions at Edgeley Park.

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