Academy manager Ian McGuckin provided his assessment of Saturday’s pre-season friendly at FC Hartlepool, having took the game from the touchline.

McGuckin hailed the occasion, with 1500 spectators in attendance as a Pools XI defeated FC Hartlepool at Grayfields.

“It was a great occasion,” explained McGuckin.

“The turnout was fantastic and it’s something we’ll definitely look more at in the future, making the town and other surrounding areas as strong as possible.

“The score doesn’t matter too much. Of course it looks healthy on our side, but it was a much closer game than what the scoreline suggests. FC really put up a fight.

“Hopefully the supporters enjoyed themselves despite the weather. It’s a fantastic day for the town with some great action on show.”

The Academy boss also provided an update on his own squad, who began pre-season training this week at Maiden Castle.

“It’s been a good start for us,” he stated.

“The lads joined us on Monday and the first week has mainly been testing and inductions.

“We’ll start to embed them into games and training sessions. It’s important to have a variety of friendlies so we get a real test in multiple areas.

“We enjoyed a great season last year and fingers crossed we can continue from there.”