RICHARD Money has been confirmed as the new manager of Hartlepool United.

Pools’ search for Matthew Bates' replacement sees the experienced one-time Newcastle United Academy chief appointed.

As The Northern Echo revealed on Monday night, Money headed the shortlist after being interviewed last week.

He will meet the players at the club’s Peterlee training ground this morning before holding a press conference this afternoon.

Speaking to the club website, Chairman Raj Singh said: “We are delighted to welcome Richard back to the North-East.

“It has been a detailed and necessarily difficult process because we have been inundated with applications from some exceptional candidates, so we have left nothing to chance by applying a professional approach to our recruitment.

“Ultimately, Richard was somebody who was very impressive at interview, who has a detailed knowledge of the squad and who wanted to work with the backroom team of Ged McNamee and Ross Turnbull, who have really impressed during their time at the Club.’’