IT was a relief for Neil Austin when he signed for Hartlepool United. Not only did it represent a step back up to League One after two years in League Two, he also started to get paid again.

For the final five months of last season, Austin and his former Darlington teammates set out to remain as professional as possible in attempting to revive a promotion push despite knowing they would not receive their pay cheques after the Quakers went into administration in February.

So when Chris Turner made a move for the out-ofcontract defender, Austin had no concerns about swapping Darlington for their North-East rivals.

“I’m pleased that I have been rewarded for my performances last season,”

said Austin, who became the first Darlington player to move to Victoria Park since Neil Aspin in 2001. “There were a few more clubs interested from League One, so I’m delighted to be here.

“I’m happy to be out of Darlington. It was not as successful as I had wished. I am just looking forward to a new era. We were not paid for a long time and the way we were treated was disgusting.

“We were still waiting to be paid for June and July.

The theory was that it would be early August when we might get paid – it was crazy.”

With contracts deemed worthless at Darlington once it became apparent that there was going to be no quick emergence from administration, Austin always expected to move on.

And he was just satisfied that before the deal with Pools was signed he had the finances to cope with not being paid – unlike some of his colleagues at The Northern Echo Darlington Arena.

“I have had savings but quite a few were living to their means,” he said. “So from the first month those players would have found it difficult. You can’t imagine what it has been like for some.

“I never fell out with football. It was a good group of lads there and we were just concentrating on staying fit and playing. We still wanted to do well, we still had a chance of playoffs.

“He (Dave Penney) offered us more days off. We all stuck at it and we gave it the best go.”

With two years under Dave Penney at Darlington behind him, Austin now wants to concentrate on the future – a future at Pools under Turner.

The 26-year-old has become one of several new faces in the squad and he is likely to become a regular part of what will start of as a new-look back five.

“I have settled in well. It’s helped that there has been a few of us coming in this summer,” said Austin.

“Pre-season has been hard, we played some good teams at first but then we started to control games more.

“It’s a new look defence.

We can only work so much.

Pre-season was about getting to know each other. Three out of the back five will be new if we get a left-back in.

“We have worked hard on back four training. It was conceding that was a problem last season.”

Austin spent five years with Barnsley figuring regularly in League One before moving to Darlington in 2007, so he knows what is required at that level.

And having been named in the PFA League Two team of the year last season, he would love nothing more than to end this season in the League One equivalent – while still being paid.

INS AND OUTS

IN: Adam Boyd (Leyton Orient, £80,000), Leon McSweeney (Stockport, free), Peter Hartley (Sunderland, free), Neil Austin (Darlington, free), Scott Flinders (Crystal Palace, free), Jon-Andre Fredriksen (Sarpsborg, £8,000), Denis Behan (Cork City, undisclosed), Steve Haslam (Bury, free)
OUT: Matty Robson (Carlisle, free), Jamie McCunnie (released), Arran Lee-Barrett (released), Jan Budtz (released), Joe Tait (released), Martin Young (released), Michael Nelson (Norwich, free), Joel Porter (Gold Coast United, free)