Cooper .. problems

By Charlie Summerbell
July 18 2012

Hartlepool United may have made three encouraging signings for next season, but after missing out on a fourth, boss Neale Cooper says he hopes that isn't the end of his transfer dealings.

But, still in Holland on the club’s annual pre-season trip abroad, adding to his squad isn’t the only problem for Cooper – he’s facing a goalkeeper crisis already.

Second-choice Andy Rafferty has a knee injury which will force him to miss the start of the season, so with Scott Flinders carrying a thigh strain 16-year-old Dominic Scott played the full game in the 2-0 friendly defeat against Telstar at the start of the week.

Pools were outplayed for large parts of that game and will be hoping for better when they play Almere City during the week.

Cooper says he isn’t too worried about the result in his team’s first game, but there was another blow when he learned that winger Robbie Wilmott has turned Pools down and joined Cambridge United after leaving Luton at the end of the season.

But Cooper says that he has room to make further additions and will also no doubt be looking into the possibility of a goalkeeper on loan if Flinders continues to be hampered by injury.

The most pressing matter for him, though, is the form of the squad as it is … he’ll be looking for a major improvement in the second Dutch game and in other friendlies when Pools came back home.