KK - new boss?

By Charlie Summerbell
October 31 2012

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has been joined on the shortlist for the vacant Hartlepool United manager's job by a string of other big names from football. *Don't believe a word of it.

After the “news” earlier this week that the veteran Swede, currently in a “high-profile” job in Thailand, was being linked with the job in his homeland, a host of others have declared an interest.

Other former England bosses like Steve McClaren, who still lives in Throston after his spell in charge at Bore-o, and Fabio Capello, who once went to a match in Newcastle, have both professed their love for the North East and their determination to return.

And after the ex-England gaffers joined the lengthening queue at Victoria Park, others from the world of football joined in … out-of-work former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, Real Madrid chief Jose Mourinho – keen to return to the UK – and Crawley’s Richie Barker amongst them.

A bloke in the bar at the White House said last night that he had seen many other big names wandering round the Marina during the week, while the town’s hotels and guest houses are said to be fully booked throughout the week.

But Box of Kippers can exclusively reveal that the man at the head of the queue, the one wanted by the Pools hierarchy, is none other than the former Mags Messiah Kevin Keegan.

He, too, has strong links with the area and used to shop at the Lidl near the General Hospital when he lived at Wynyard.

A spokesman for Keegan said: “No comment”, and as usual Pools are playing their cards close to their collective chests, so expect KK to be installed before the end of the week.

He might even be in charge for Saturday’s FA Cup first round game at Chesterfield, where Pools will come up against former boss Chris Turner, who is now chief executive or managing director or director of sport at the Derbyshire club.

The game gives Pools a chance to take a break from the bottom-of-the-table pressures in League One, but Chesterfield will be clear favourites, even though they are only 16^th in League Two and have won only two of their eight home games.

EDITOR’S NOTE: a denial of all this rubbish will appear later. The writer has been disciplined.