GIVEN how rocked Hartlepool United seemed to be following the news of Dave Challinor’s departure, not many would have predicted some of the results under Antony Sweeney’s temporary tenureship. Or perhaps they might have.

From four games, Sweeney has led Pools to two victories, one draw and one defeat.

One of the victories came in the form of an FA Cup shock away to Wycombe Wanderers winning 1-0 to seal a place in the second round of the competition. They hung on but they got the win at Adams Park.

The one defeat was agonising and ended a 13 match unbeaten run at Victoria Park where they conceded in stoppage time to lose 2-1 against Newport County. It was a result that seemed harsh given their second half resurgence.

It’s always been the plan for Pools to take their time in their search for a new manager but it’s widely acknowledged that the better the results are, the more time it gives the Pools hierarchy to conduct their business.

Asked by the Northern Echo whether how long the directive from above remained the same, Sweeney said after the Newport County defeat: “Like I said from the start, they were open and honest and they said they would let me know when anything changes.

“As of yet, there’s been no contact in that regard.

“I said that it’s always easy to take time when results go well. When results don’t go well, that’s when the pressure goes on and the timescale shortens as well.

“Whether that’s the case this time, I have no idea.”

Sweeney, 38, is no stranger to taking temporary charge of Pools. Back in 2019 before Challinor’s appointment, Sweeney took charge of five games.

Pools were in a much worse position back then in the bottom half of the National League and had little chance of mounting a promotion push.

Despite that, he managed to steer them to three wins, one draw and one defeat. However, back then, that was over the course of a month where Pools really took their time to search for a new boss.

Sweeney has been in temporary charge for less than three weeks and with results in keeping with their good start to the season, there is no rush to change that for the time being.

When Challinor was appointed, it was the club’s remit for Sweeney to operate under the stewardship of the now Stockport County boss where he would learn from the 46-year-old.

But has he learnt enough to take on the role full-time?

By the time Sweeney will hit his one month anniversary as interim manager, eight games will have gone by. Those remaining four games will go a long way to deciding who is going to take the permanent manager’s job at Victoria Park.