Pools boss Craig Hignett says players are fit and ready for season

The squad - including 8 new signings - were in pre-season training in Durham this morning.

Published 30th Jun 2016

Hartlepool United boss Craig Hignett says his players are fit and ready for the new season following the summer break.

The squad, including eight new signings, took part in pre-season training in Durham this morning.

The most recent addition is former Rochdale forward Lewis Alessandra, who had his first day training with the club today.

Padraig Amond, attacking midfielder Nicky Deverdics and defender Toto Nsiala have also joined the club over recent weeks.

The 27-year-old told TFM it was skipper Craig Hignett who personally persuaded him to join the squad.

He said: "My season last year was a bit stop start, I didn't get to play as many games as I'd have liked and ended up going to York at the end of the season.

"I'm just really looking forward to this season and I hope I can cement a place in a team that hopefully that will be doing really well at the right end of the table."

Boss Craig Hignett said most of the team are looking lean following the summer break, although he's been on the lookout for any 'holiday guts' among his squad.

He said: "I'm very pleased with how the lads have come back, they've clearly been doing stuff in the summer.

"You can see a lot of them have come back leaner than they left, which is great for me because it shows they want to have a real go.

"They've made a real effort over the summer to get themselves fit and the fitter they are the quicker we can get into the proper work."

The club announced earlier this week that their season ticket sales have reached 2,000.