HARTLEPOOL UNITED chairwoman Pam Duxbury has described the progress she has made in restructuring the club’s ownership - and has urged fans to back the bid to revive fortunes at Victoria Park.

In a long statement and in a bid to show transparency, Duxbury has moved to explain how former chairman Gary Coxall is no longer attached to the club and neither is the former owners, JPNG Ltd.

She also went on to explain how she has worked hard behind-the-scenes during extremely tough times to ensure Hartlepool did not fall into administration ahead of playing in the National League for the first time.

Duxbury, who appointed former Middlesbrough defender Craig Harrison as the new manager earlier this summer, is now focused on ensuring Pools continue to move in the right direction - despite having to make difficult calls during her time at the helm.

She explained: “To clarify that, for the avoidance of any doubt, there are no longer any links whatsoever between Hartlepool United Football Club and JPNG Ltd or Gary Coxall. I am currently the sole director of HUFC Holdings Ltd and Hartlepool United FC Ltd. Therefore 99.6 per cent of Hartlepool United FC Ltd is owned by HUFC Holdings Ltd and the remainder by numerous fans with legacy shareholdings.

“The future plans for the ownership of the Football Club are as I have previously outlined; part ownership through the Supporters’ Trust and a consortium of individuals willing to invest in the football club.

"The next stage includes completing the normal year-end audit of the club’s accounts up to 30th June 2017. This will be combined with a detailed audit of the club and should be completed by the end of the summer. This process will help keep costs to a minimum and increase the efficiency of the engagement with Supporters’ Direct as part of the next phase.

"Once the audit is complete, I can then progress with Supporters Direct setting out a three-year vision. This will include achievable targets for the Football Club and the required investment to do so.”

Duxbury went onto explain that a prospectus will be created, with input from the Supporters’ Trust, in the hope of attracting the outside investment required to move the club on to greater things and to restructure the debt. The aim is for that to be concluded by Christmas.

Having never previously worked in football, Duxbury openly admitted that “the last six months have been the most difficult” she has faced during her career and that she is “very relieved to be on the other side.”

Duxbury has made a number of decisions since taking over – some positive, appointing an ambitious young manager, and others controversial, like ending long serving physio Ian Gallagher’s time with the club – but she has urged fans to back the club in its time of need.

She added: "It is vital to put down the solid foundations to enable us to be promoted to the EFL at the earliest opportunity. I need your support so that I can continue to set these foundations and rebuild the club.

"I need you to come to our games. I need you to buy your season tickets. We all need you to come and support the team and cheer them on as passionately as you can, and they need to reward you with their effort and performance.

"I know this is a big ask given the performance on and off the pitch in recent times, however, without you there is no football club. There is only so much I can do with internal efficiencies, sponsorship and advertising.

“In time, I want the non-match day income to be able to sustain the football club and match day income to be available to reinvest and develop the club. At this moment in time we are a long way off that being the case.

"The club was loss making before relegation and we now have an additional £350,000 of lost revenue to make up on top of losses. I am successfully working with sponsors - old and new - to provide sustainable and positive support for the club. The support from the local business community has been overwhelming and very encouraging. Utility Alliance, in particular, have been a key part of that.

"I truly believe we are beginning a new era for Hartlepool United and I am genuinely excited about the future of the club. The support from the National League has been outstanding and I am very much looking forward to the season ahead and can’t wait for us to get started. We are all in this together and together we will rise.”