Aaron McLean tips Hartlepool United for title challenge after summer spending

By Tom Blackett

Aaron McLean says Hartlepool United’s summer shopping puts them in the title conversation.

The former Conference hot-shot turned pundit has been impressed with how Pools have recruited under new boss Lee Clark.

With new US owner Landon Smith aiming to fire the National League outfit back into the EFL, the north-east club’s arrivals have included former West Ham and Norwich forward Jordan Hugill, Morecambe’s 19-goal top scorer Jack Nolan and Will Harris, who scored 25 times for FC Halifax Town last season.

And former Aldershot and Ebbsfleet striker McLean – who went from Non-League to the Premier League as a player – says Pools are among the contenders.

Contenders

“I think you’d have to say they are title contenders,” McLean told BetSelect. “I think that Carlisle will improve on last season too.

“Forest Green have been there for the last couple of years. Southend have gone and got a new manager, and they’re going to have a new way of playing.

“There are a lot of unknowns at the moment. I think Hartlepool are going to be in and around the top.

“But I don’t think you can write off Carlisle. I don’t think you write off Scunthorpe. I think Scunthorpe were another team who flew under the radar, but had a fantastic season.

“I think it’s wide open this year. But Hartlepool are in the conversation.”

ACE: Jordan Hugill unveiled at Hartlepool United
PICTURE: Mark Fletcher

Experience

Carlisle made one of the big managerial raids of the summer by luring Gateshead’s Rob Elliot to replace Mark Hughes, who left despite last season’s third-place finish. Does McLean see them differently now?

“A little bit, and purely because I think Rob Elliott knows the National League,” McLean said. “I think he knows what to expect, and I think he changes the way that Carlisle plays.

“I think he goes back to what he was doing at Gateshead, ball on the floor, that free-flowing, fluent style of play, which is a lot more attractive to watch.

“Carlisle fans will enjoy watching his team play and, as I say, he’s got the experience of having managed at that level before. So I think they do change, and for the better, because of his experience and know-how at that level.”

Southend are a slight unknown with the arrival of former England international Kieron Dyer for his first No.1 role.

PUNDIT: Aaron McLean

Opportunity

And McLean is interested to see how they fare after going in a new direction from long-serving boss Kevin Maher, who delivered back-to-back play-off finishes and Isuzu FA Trophy glory.

“I’m gutted for Kevin Maher and Darren Currie because I think that they did an incredible job under extremely difficult circumstances,” McLean said.

“They got back-to-back Wembley trips and won FA Trophy at the end of the season.

“So it’s sad to see them go because Kevin Maher, having been a player and a captain at Southend, would have been desperate to lead them back into the Football League as a manager.

“The fact that that’s not going to happen is disappointing.

“But I like Kieron. Obviously, he’s been cutting his teeth as a coach at Chesterfield. So he’s been learning his trade; he had his period at Ipswich as a coach too.

“And it’s now his time, it’s now his opportunity to go in and go into a very ambitious club that has high expectations.

“He’s going have to hit the ground running, he’s going have to use all the experience that he’s gained from his time, especially at Chesterfield.

“He’s going have to lean on his contacts for recruitment and make sure he brings in the right type of player who can handle playing for probably the biggest, if not one of the biggest, clubs in that division, given the level of expectation they have.

“But I’m excited to see what Kieron does.”