DANNY WILSON, the last manager to bring success to Hartlepool United, admits he is devastated to see his former club in their current predicament.

Pools are on the brink of administration, needing to find around £200,000 before next Thursday after owners Sage Investments and benefactor John Blackledge pulled the plug on financing the operation.

Wilson led Pools to promotion from League Two in 2007, breaking a string of club records along the way, before he was axed in December 2008.

Victoria Park is set for a sell-out on Saturday, with only a handful of tickets remaining.

Boss Craig Harrison will speak to the press this morning for the first time since the defeat at Dagenham ten days’ ago.

Pools have had nine other managers between Wilson and Harrison.

Wilson said: “Looking at how it was run before, with IOR who owned it for 20 years or something like that, they were always criticised for not spending money, for not being ambitious, but they kept the club afloat by understanding what was needed to run a football club.

“From that respect, you have to look back and say sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.

“Now they have departed, it seems to have gone from lapsing from one problem to another and now they are in deep trouble.

“I am devastated. It’s a cracking club, the fans up there are very, very, very dedicated to their football club and the town. We all want it to end on a happy note, but it is in as bit of a problem place at the moment.’’

And, with two possible investors pondering their next moves regarding a takeover, Wilson is confident Pools will come through their troubled period.

“The football family across the country always come up with the goods at times like these. You have seen it happen before at other football clubs, at Middlesbrough for example just up the road from Hartlepool.

“So the football family will come to its aid, I am sure, somewhere down the line if need be. I don’t think they will go under, I really don’t, I really hope not, I really don’t think so in my heart. I think the football world will come together and help them through this problem time.”

A pile of fund-raising events are taking place across the town and region.

On ebay, Nathan Thomas, the former Pools attacker, has donated a match-worn shirt which is currently at £295, while Jordan Hugill has donated the shirt he wore during the win over Exeter in May 2015 and that sits at £310.

Rob McKinnon, part of the 1991 promotion side, has offered up three shirts for auction on Facebook. A Scotland shirt, which he wore for his country has sold for £500, a Hearts shirt is currently £200 and a shirt he wore playing for a Pools Masters team in 2008 is up to £250.

He said: “They mean the world to me but Pools means more.’’