Nicky Featherstone 'genuinely believes' Hartlepool United will progress under Landon Smith

Pools appear to have made a strong start to the summer, appointing Lee Clark as the club's new head coach while also welcoming four new signings including highly rated attacker Jack Nolan, who scored 19 goals in 40 games for strugglers Morecambe last season.

While Pools, who released 13 players last month, still have a lot of work to do if they're to establish themselves as genuine promotion contenders next term, the initial signs are encouraging and it's hard to avoid the sense that hope, optimism and belief have returned to the North East since Smith completed his takeover of the club from the hugely controversial Raj Singh on New Year's Eve.