Former Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick discusses his time at Pools

The Australian was at the helm of Pools during one of the most turbulent and uncertain periods in the club's recent history but drew widespread acclaim for his handling of a challenging situation under controversial former owner Raj Singh.

Limbrick, who is currently the head coach of USL Championship side Loudoun United, joined Pools in November 2024, initially taking on a role as part of manager Lennie Lawrence's coaching staff.

After impressing with his energy, enthusiasm and forward-thinking tactical approach, Limbrick replaced Lawrence in February 2025 after the veteran stepped back to allow the former Woking boss to take the reins.

Just over a month after Limbrick had taken charge, however, Singh announced his sudden decision to step down from his role as chairman, plunging the club into a period of tumult and trepidation.

Despite the challenges and uncertainty, Pools continued to progress under Limbrick, winning three games in a row - part of a run of five matches unbeaten - in the immediate aftermath of Singh's decision to step down.

While Pools weren't able to engineer a late surge into the National League play-offs, there were many fans who were disappointed by Singh's decision not to extend the 43-year-old's contract, with the club instead agreeing a deal for the experienced Simon Grayson.

Although Limbrick's tenure was perhaps shorter than he might have liked - the Australian won five, drew six and lost six of his 17 games in charge - his commitment to attack-minded football as well as his development of young players like Reyes Cleary and Jamie Miley made him a popular figure at Victoria Park.

"I really enjoyed my time there," Limbrick said.

"I felt like I had a good connection with the people there, whether that was the staff, the players or the fans. 

"I felt like I had a really good relationship with the supporters. I gave 100 per cent and I think the fans saw how much I cared about the club.

"Although I was only there for a short period, I loved it. I loved the stadium there, I loved the atmosphere on game days when that place got rocking and after matches when we started to win a few games.

"I felt like we were building something there, too. We had some good, experienced professionals but also some good young players coming through as well like Jamie Miley and Reyes Cleary.

"I had a really good time there, I enjoyed it. There are so many good people there, I'm grateful to Lennie for learning a lot from him. I learned a lot from Gav Skelton too and Nicky Featherstone was excellent for me too personally having known the club so well and been a part of it for so long."

The outstanding performer during Limbrick's tenure at Victoria Park was Cleary, who scored six goals and provided seven assists in 20 appearances.

The youngster signed for Pools on loan from West Brom in January 2025 following a disappointing stint with League Two Walsall, where he was reduced to just two starts and five substitute appearances, but wasted little time in announcing himself to the footballing world thanks to a blistering spell in the North East.

Although Cleary arrived having spent most of his time operating in the front line, Limbrick managed to get the best out of him in a wing-back role, with large parts of how Pools played focused on getting the talented wideman in positions to run at defenders.

Since leaving Pools, Cleary has gone from strength to strength, scoring seven goals in 50 matches for Barnsley last season and grabbing headlines thanks to an outstanding showing against Premier League giants Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Limbrick, who is renowned for his commitment to developing young players, was full of praise for Cleary's impact at Victoria Park.

He said: "What impressed me most about him was what a determined young lad he is.

"He went to Walsall and didn't get many opportunities so when he came to Pools it was a big loan move for him, he needed to do well.

"We knew he was good in one-v-ones and he could take people on, we had to make sure we could get him the ball in the right areas to allow him to do that.

"We managed to get him into the 3-5-2 shape that we were using which could have been seen as a bit of a risk as you could argue he was playing out of position as a wing-back.

"I felt at the time we needed three in midfield and we had two good strikers, whether that was Mani Dieseruvwe, Joe Grey or Gary Madine. It worked well when he was out wide because there were more people in the box and that helped him get more assists and more goals.

"Managing him in that shape and formation was really key, we did a lot of work with him on that and some of the senior players helped him too.

"He was really good to work with, we did a lot of individual clips with him, spent a lot of time on his game and did a lot of extra work with him.

"We worked on his fitness and his diet and made sure he provided enough end product by working hard on it in the week, whether that be finishing, crossing or attacking drills.

"We had an individual development plan for him that worked well and he really took to the place as well with the fans, his style, the way he played and the fact he was such a humble guy. His family were great too.

"He was a good example of how you can develop young players at National League level; he can benefit from that but also the club can as well."

Another young player who progressed under Limbrick at Victoria Park was Miley.

The 22-year-old signed for Pools from Newcastle just days before Limbrick took charge and produced a series of purposeful performances, memorably during a thumping 4-1 win over in-form Boston.

The midfielder was a regular in the Pools side again last season, scoring three times in 46 appearances, and Limbrick feels he has the quality to progress through the leagues as he continues to develop.

"I think he can get through the leagues and play in the Football League," he said.

"He's got good technical ability, he can see a pass, he plays forward and he looks to join in with attacks, he's got an eye for goal in and around the edge of the box.

"He's got a good attitude, he's very determined. He understands what it means to be a professional footballer with his brother (Jamie) and his background at Newcastle.

"He gets what it means to play for a club like Hartlepool, with the passionate fanbase and the dedication of those people up there. He really understood that being from in and around that area.

"He's got a good future in the game and I wouldn't be surprised if he kicked on."

Throughout his career, Limbrick has worked hard to foster and develop young players.

The Australian, who led The New Saints to the Europa Conference League as well as the Cymru Premier title, has spent time in the academies of Boreham Wood, Southampton, where he worked alongside the likes of Ronald Koeman and Mauricio Pochettino, and West Ham as well as a brief spell with the England under-17s.

At Pools, Limbrick put plenty of faith in youngsters, with Louis Stephenson and Campbell Darcy also featuring in the first team towards the end of the campaign.

He said: "It really is important for me personally, I've coached young players throughout my career.

"A famous youth team coach once said, 'once you're a developer, you're always a developer' and I think that's true.

"Even when I'm coaching a men's team, I always gravitate towards the younger players, making them better and improving them. But also the more experienced players as well, every player wants to get better.

"If you can improve them, whether that be four, five or 10 per cent, it gives you more chance of getting good performances which gives you more chance to win games as well.

"It goes hand in hand. Some people say it's development over winning, but I say it's about helping develop winners. You can do both at the same time and I want to make sure I keep working hard to prove that's right."

Like many Pools managers, Limbrick had to deal with more than his fair share of off-field issues during his time at the helm.

Despite the considerable challenges of navigating a hugely tumultuous period under the controversial Singh, Pools enjoyed a strong finish to the 2024/25 campaign, winning four, drawing four and losing just two of their final 10 matches.

"It definitely was a challenging time, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"It wasn't easy being the head coach during that time however I enjoyed and accepted that challenge.

"When there's a lot of talk off the pitch and all the stuff surrounding the sale and the ownership that was going on at the time, it can be difficult to manage.

"From a football point of view, I thought the staff and the players did a great job. We remained focused, we stayed on task.

"We had a difficult run but then we picked it up and we won three home games in a row and we had some really good performances including the wins over Gateshead, Ebbsfleet and Boston, which I thought was very good.

"It showed what you can do when you focus on the football and I thought we owed that to the fans, that was the most important bit.

"There was a lot of talk about what was going on at the club and what was going to happen at the end of the season but we maintained an impressive level of focus and attention to detail on the task at hand.

"We wanted to win some games and produce some good performances to really build the feelgood factor at Victoria Park and I think we did.

"The fans were right behind us and that was our job and our duty to do that for those people, that's what they deserved.

"They were unsure about what was going to happen with their club and so I felt a big responsibility and the players and the staff all supported me with that.

"I think we put that into practice and showed that we needed to maintain focus on what we were doing to help give the fans some good times.

"The response from the supporters meant a lot to me. You can't always control what happens in football but I left knowing I'd done my best and given everything I could, that was really important to me.

"I would obviously like to have stayed for longer, of course, but that's football. I had a great time there and I look back on it with really fond memories."