By Albatross
June 26 2003

Once again the board have appointed someone we didn't suspect as Hartlepool United manager. This time it's former Ross County manager Neale Cooper. There is some continuity though, as Martin Scott will be stepping up to the position of Assistant Manager. So what do we know about Cooper?

He was born in Darjeeling, India, on 24th November 1963, and started his career as a defender with Junior club Kings Street before joining Aberdeen in 1979. He stayed with the Dons until 1986. This was the golden period for Aberdeen, as with Alex Ferguson in charge they briefly broke the dominance of the Old Firm, and collected the European Cup-Winners Cup. Spells then followed with Aston Villa, Rangers, Aberdeen again, and Reading briefly before he signed for Dunfermline, playing over 100 games for them. He then joined Ross County as Manager in 1996. His first season saw them miss out on promotion from SFL Div3 on Goal Difference, the next by a single point before winning the title in his third season at a canter. Another promotion the following season saw them in SFL Div1, and a respectable mid-table finish was followed by 4th place. He left last season with Ross struggling, but they did avoid relegation.

His biggest influence as a manager is of course Ferguson, although he also claims to have learnt from everyone who's been in charge of him - including the likes of Graeme Souness and Walter Smith. He also does a more than passable imitation of Fergie, so it's unlikely we'll be signing David Beckham!

Of more concern though is his mental toughness as a boss. When he resigned from the Dingwall club, he indicated that it was partly for the good of his health; and an article in Scotland on Sunday back in 1999 referred to him having had a near nervous breakdown the previous season, and said "After bad results, Cooper can sometimes appear a tortured man, sitting alone in the stand staring out as if replaying all the action in his mind."

He does though claim to be more than ready to return to football, and in an interview to the Highland News a couple of months ago said he had learned from the mistakes and situations. It seems that part of the problems affecting him were nothing to do with football, with family problems mentioned. He'd also spent some time going round some top clubs - not least Man Utd - to see how their setups worked. There's no doubt that he's a football man through and through.

There's already more than a bit of muttering, which is understandable given the names that were supposed to be interested. But he's the man in charge, and let's get behind him and give him a chance to show us what he can do for Hartlepool United. I don't know about you, but I'd much prefer to see the board proved right with their appointment than to have us playing in Division 3 again in the near future.

One very good thing is that Martin Scott will be staying at the club and moving up to the position of Assistant Manager. Cooper has admitted in his interview to Pools World that he doesn't know too much about the squad, and Scott's knowledge of who we already have at the club is vital. Hopefully we'll be hearing about new signings shortly, and although this isn't the appointment we were necessarily expecting or hoping for, let's hope that it turns out to be a success.