Keith Curle appointed Hartlepool interim manager after Paul Hartley departure

League Two Hartlepool have announced the appointment of Keith Curle as interim manager.

Curle has been drafted in after Pools parted company with manager Paul Hartley and assistant manager Gordon Young earlier in the day.

Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Sutton left the club 23rd in the table, just two points above bottom side Rochdale.

They have yet to win a league game this season, losing five and drawing four of their nine matches.

Curle has 20 years of management experience, taking charge of over 600 games, and he won promotion from League Two via the play-offs with Northampton in 2020.

He will be joined at the Suit Direct Arena by assistant coach Colin West.

Antony Sweeney will lead the club into Tuesday’s Papa John’s Trophy contest with Morecambe, with Curle expected to take the reins on Wednesday.

Pools chairman Raj Singh said: “We fully recognise the need to act decisively and quickly given our position.

“Keith has a lot of experience and know how at this level, including turnarounds and achieving promotion into League One with a side just two years ago.

“He has a profile that we believe is needed at this time to immediately step in, shore things up and start moving the team forward again.”