Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Dave Jones intent on taking Hartlepool to higher level

Jones’s last managerial role was in 2013 at Sheffield Wednesday, but the 60-year-old is now back in the game with a side sitting 19th in the table and four points above the relegation zone.

Jones achieved promotion to the Championship with the Owls and kept them up the following season before eventually being sacked by the Owls in December 2013.

The former Stockport, Southampton, Wolves and Cardiff manager replaces Craig Hignett, who left Pools by mutual consent on Sunday in the wake of a 1-0 defeat at Crawley which made it one win in nine matches.

Jones, who will officially take over on Monday morning, will be joined at the club by Kevin Cooper, his right-hand man at both Wolves and Cardiff.

Other managerial highlights for Jones include leading Stockport to the semi-finals of the League Cup and promotion to the second tier in 1997, managing Southampton in the Premier League and taking Wolves into the top flight in 2002-03.

He led Cardiff to the FA Cup final in 2008 and narrowly missed out on getting the Bluebirds into the Premier League when they were beaten 3-2 by Blackpool in the play-off final.

“It’s a club that wants to go places and, hopefully, I can deliver that,” said Jones

“When you bring in a new manager they always have their own ideas, how they want to go about. All through my career in management I’ve gone and built, that’s what I like doing best, building teams and along with that the club builds with it.

“My priority is to make sure that the club grows and it grows pretty quick. The club has struggled for quite a few years but it has a good fanbase, it has all the trappings to be a successful football club and hopefully that’s what I’ve been brought in to try and deliver.

“I’ve been quite lucky in my career that it’s been quite successful so I don’t want to spoil that, I want to continue that.”