TWO GAMES at the start of December and, to a certain extent, Christmas arrived early for Craig Hignett. The problem is he had to wait until this week to get his present.

After Matthew Bates was sacked at Hartlepool United, the club’s director of football was placed in temporary charge as the club looked for a new boss.

A galling home defeat to Dagenham was followed by a win at Maidenhead.

In came Richard Money and Hignett revered back to his director of football role, while still having involvement with the first-team.

After what has affectively been a job swop this week, Hignett is back in charge of Pools. Two years ago he was sacked as boss.

“Being in charge for those two games gave me a lift,’’ he reflected. “I enjoyed doing the recruitment and watching games but having an involvement, an input, then seeing it out in a game - it gave me a buzz.

“I want to be a coach. It is what I want to do.’’

Hignett is manager on a permanent basis. He craves stability and the chance to mould his own team again.

Last time his side probably played too much football without hurting the opposition enough. In this division there’s little room for pretty passing.

“I will be different,’’ he insisted. “This division is brutal. I am not daft. I know we need to be a bit more filthy and we need players to do that.

“I still have my philosophy. I still want to play football. I still want to attack but there is a different way of doing it in this league - you just have to be clever about it.

“There are teams who play football at this level and get nowhere. There are teams who regularly lump it and get in the play offs. I need a good mixture.

“We need some strength, pace and height but we also need good footballers.”

While Money spoke on his appointment of an 18-month plan and position, Hignett hopes and expects to be around longer.

Amid a backdrop of financial carnage last time his was in charge, there’s much more stability off the pitch for him to work under now.

“It is unfinished business for me,’’ he said. “I would like to do something here. If I can get the team up, that would be great.

“It is down to me this time, there are no excuses. It is do or die time.

“We have spoken about long term plans but the chairman is as ambitious as anyone. He wants to be out of this league as soon as possible, not 10 or 15 years down the line.’’

He added: “We will be working now to get as much preparation done so we are not scraping around in the summer.

“Richard will be doing some of that, I will and Tommy, too. We have people out at games, we have lists of targets drawn up already. We need to refine that a little.

“Some of the players we have brought in recently could be ones who stay - Kabamba, Raynes, Molyneux. They are all good players and characters.

“They have got a chance from now to the end of the season to earn a contract.’’

Money’s last game in charge was last weekend’s defeat at Harrogate, Pools’ third successive loss under the manager who was only appointed in December.

And that defeat instigated more change at the club.

“We had some really honest talking and it was something that Richard had started and was being honest about – where he saw himself and the role. It’s a big job. The chairman, board were of the same opinion and eventually I was,’’ said Hignett.

“When Matty [Bates] had gone I went around telling people what a good job this was without thinking about myself.

“He challenged me and asked me. I would like to manage, I’ve said that it wasn’t here and that was because I’m here to look after the chairman’s money as best I can, to protect him.

“But Richard said if I wasn’t going to be here then where would I be?

“You are relying on people who know you somewhere else. This club, from the board and support from there this time around is totally different to last time. From that point I could not go anywhere with the same level of support.

“On top of that I have the experience of Richard to fall back on.’’

Money, who was at the club’s training ground this morning with Hignett and the players as he gets stuck into his new position, will oversee a number of areas in the coming weeks and months.

Hignett admitted of Money’s position: “It’s a big job, it’s the football infrastructure which needs looking into – physio, sports science, medical, recruitment which we have looked at since I’ve been there. The big one is the academy as we lose our funding so we have to restructure and rebuild that.

“I’m in charge of the team, he doesn’t want to be called director of football, but he will oversee things so looking forward, when we get promoted, we will be in a much better place.’’