Raj Singh: Hartlepool United put up for sale by chairman as relegation looms
- Published
Businessman Raj Singh took over the club in 2018
Hartlepool United have been put up for sale by chairman Raj Singh, citing supporter disenchantment and abuse, with Pools on the cusp of relegation from the English Football League.
Singh said selling the club was a "tough decision" and stated he was "hurting" at the on-field failure to compete in League Two this season.
The businessman reiterated he will be "fully committed" during the process.
John Askey will also continue as manager under Singh's stewardship.
Pools are currently second bottom of the division, six points behind Crawley - who they lost to on Saturday - with an inferior goal difference.
They would need to win both remaining games against Barrow and Stockport, Crawley to lose both of theirs and overhaul a minus-six goal differential in order to survive.
The Teesside businessman, who was previously involved with Darlington, took over Hartlepool in April 2018 and oversaw their last promotion back to the EFL in 2021.
"Plans have been put together and the manager will receive a budget of around one-third higher than the one that got us promoted a few years ago if we go into the National League," Singh said in his statement.
"We will back John and his team in either scenario to turn this situation around and we believe the ingredients are there to do so. In many ways the club is in a stronger position now.
"I have also given my assurances to the off-field staff that it will be business as usual and that they should continue with their good work and progress. The commercial team have a lot planned this summer.
"As long as the fans allow me the courtesy and don't force my hand, I will not just walk away and leave this club in a mess as some prior regimes have unfortunately done. My aim was always to leave Hartlepool United in a better position than what I found it, and I firmly believe that can still be done."
'Right intentions'
Singh's arrival in 2018 followed a period of upheaval at Pools, with two separate owners, relegation and multiple winding-up petitions lodged between Ken Hodcroft's sale of the club in 2014 and Singh taking over.
"As a local person I stepped in to help Hartlepool United when it was in danger of ceasing to exist and I have done my utmost," he added.
"Despite what some people might want to believe or portray, the club is in a much more secure position behind the scenes than when I arrived.
"I find some of the comments that are being made and the abuse that myself, my family and some staff have received incredibly difficult to hear and digest.
"I have dedicated my time, energy and money to help the club with the right intentions."
'One thing being up for sale, quite another to find buyer' - Analysis
Mark Drury, BBC Radio Tees Sport
It's not been a great few days for Hartlepool United's fans with defeat to Crawley at the weekend signalling a return to the National League and now the news that their club is up for sale.
In a club statement, chairman Raj Singh made reference to the calls for him to go - voiced by fans on Saturday - but maintains he will leave the club in "a better place" than he found it.
Singh also pledges to keep John Askey as manager and says his budget for next season will be a third bigger than the one that saw Pools to promotion in 2021.
One line of Singh's statement strikes an ominous tone when he says "As long as the fans allow me the courtesy and don't force my hand, I will not just walk away and leave this club in a mess as some prior regimes have unfortunately done".
As Pools fans know all too well, it's one thing to put a club up for sale, it's quite another to find a suitable buyer.