HARTLEPOOL UNITED are on the verge of appointing Bromley boss Andy Woodman as their new permanent manager.

Antony Sweeney remains in interim charge for tomorrow evening’s League Two home game with Newport County, but the match at Victoria Park could well prove to be the last of his temporary stint in charge.

Woodman, a former goalkeeping coach at Newcastle United, is understood to be keen to be Pools’ new boss, replacing Dave Challinor, who left the North-East last month to take over at Stockport County.

However, Pools chairman Raj Singh is still to agree a compensation package with the Bromley hierarchy, with talks with officials from the National League club planned for the weekend.

A former goalkeeper who has played for a long list of clubs including Brentford, Colchester, Oxford and Stevenage, Woodman made his name as a coach working under Alan Pardew at West Ham.

He followed Pardew to Charlton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, before stepping out on his own to take on his first managerial role at National League South side Whitehawk in 2017.

Having briefly worked as head of goalkeeping at Arsenal, he went back into management with Bromley in March, guiding the club to the National League play-offs on the final day of last season. He currently presides over a side sitting fourth in the National League table, just three points off top spot with a game in hand on all the teams currently above them.

Depending on how discussions go over the weekend, he could be in place for Pools’ FA Cup first-round replay at Wycombe Wanderers next Tuesday.

Sweeney remain in charge tomorrow, when he will be looking to extend his unbeaten record since stepping in to replace Challinor last month.

“I’m sure the club are working really hard behind the scenes, but it’s business as usual for me as interim manager,” he said. “There are no changes for me – I’m just working with the players and trying to get results for the team. What will be will be. The results have been okay so far, which helps, because that’s always a determining factor in how quickly a new manager is appointed."