BRYN Morris has described how he was left feeling a ‘sour taste’ after a permanent move back to Hartlepool United broke down over the summer.

The 26-year-old midfielder, who spent the second half of last season on loan with Pools, had a permanent move lined up to make a return but has just completed a switch to fellow League Two side Grimsby Town after their promotion last season. After 11 appearances and one goal for the club, they made their intentions clear to bring Morris back to the Suit Direct Stadium with preliminary talks taking place before his loan spell has ended.

However, the deal broke down after a change in manager. Morris told BBC Radio Humberside: “I had a permanent deal at Hartlepool which all summer I pretty much thought that’s where I was going to be for the foreseeable. For different reasons, I didn’t come off but I knew that I didn’t have a future up there and that I would be looking elsewhere.”

At the time, former Pools manager Graeme Lee was working on a deal to bring him back permanently whilst also holding discussions with other members of the squad about extending their contracts. It appears that all parties were on the same page regarding bringing Morris back to the North-Easst. However, Lee was relieved of his duties before the final game of the season against Colchester United after a poor run of form which set off the next chain of events.

Paul Hartley’s appointment was confirmed in June and the new manager made it clear that he had his own vision for the club. Morris continued: “The manager (Lee) that brought me in got sacked and the new manager (Hartley) just said ‘look, I want to bring in my own players’. For me personally, I think it was a bit of ‘a different manager has brought you in and I want to bring in my own players’.”

Hartley is in the midst of shaping his squad for the forthcoming season having made ten new signings for the League Two campaign which gets underway in ten days time away at Walsall. As a replacement for Morris in defensive midfield, Hartley has moved to bring in Mohammed Niang from Partick Thistle.

However, Hartlepool born Morris was under the impression that he would be able to make the return to the Suit Direct Stadium for next season and be part of that squad. With the club having a change of heart and the squad playing under a new manager, Morris has bemoaned the way in which the deal was handled.

“If I am being brutally honest, I think the way it was handled was really unprofessional” Morris added. “Just in terms of the communication and other bits and bobs that I won’t go into but it left a bit of a sour taste to be fair. I think that’s football. There are no friends in football. There isn’t much in terms of loyalty so it is what it is.”

The breakdown in a permanent deal back to Pools paved the way for Morris to sign for the Mariners after achieving promotion from the National League. He will join former Pools midfielder Gavan Holohan in the squad who left Pools to join Grimsby in March earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Pools are continuing to run the rule of trialist Ben Tollitt. The 27-year-old winger has been training with Pools for the last few weeks after being released by AFC Fylde.