On the latest episode of the Poolie Podcast, Robbie Stelling previews Hartlepool United's 2025/26 Vanarama National League promotion hopes ahead of a crucial summer at Pools.
00:00And of course, there will be a number of the teams that have reached the season's playoffs that don't go up that you would fancy to be competitive.
00:07South End are a club I really like. They've obviously been through the ringer a bit in recent years.
00:12In Kevin Mayer, I think they've got a fantastic manager. Average home gate of 7,000.
00:17I'd love them to go up this season, to be honest. But if they don't, then I think they'll take some beating next year as well.
00:23Oldham and Rochdale, obviously former football league clubs who look to be on the up.
00:28And of course, coming back into the division, I think if you look at the National League South, Truro under John Askey, it's going to be a real challenge for them.
00:38You would have to imagine. I think they've managed to keep a core of the squad that helped them win promotion together.
00:44But obviously, it's going to be difficult to attract players. You would imagine lots of travelling for them.
00:50And Boreham would. I like Luke Garrett as a manager. He's obviously done an excellent job there.
00:55And coming up from the North, Brackley, who beat Pools in the FA Cup, really liked them as a club.
01:02And Scunthorpe, that was an interesting final, wasn't it? Scunthorpe and Chester in the National League North.
01:07Two really big clubs, two proper clubs with good fan bases. Delighted to see Scunthorpe back in the National League.
01:13Equally, would have been happy to see Chester back in the division as well.
01:17I wouldn't be surprised at all if Scunthorpe had a say towards the top end.
01:21They are a proper club with some really dedicated and committed fans.
01:25Danny Whitehall, who scored in the playoff final, is a player that I really, really like, scores goals consistently and is that sort of typical number nine.
01:34Callum Roberts, who scored against Pools in pre-season, is another player who I think can be a real difference maker.
01:39So it's shaping up to be an interesting division. You would imagine that, as I say, Carlisle are going to be among the most Hockney-tipped sides, potentially York, if they don't go up as well.
01:51It's really difficult to know where Pools are going to fit in amongst all this.
01:55I mean, there's a whole load of possibilities, isn't there? There could be new ownership.
01:59There could be real positivity and energy.
02:02Or, of course, things could go the other way and Pools could face a bit of an uphill battle.
02:07Whatever the case, as we say, as we've already said, it's really important that things happen.
02:12Things happen sooner rather than later, because if you're going to stand any chance of being competitive,
02:17you need to have most of the summer to have a proper good crack at recruitment and keeping together the core of the current squad.
