To HUST members and all fans,

My two years as Honorary President of the Hartlepool United Supporters’ Trust is now coming to an end. I have loved being in the role and it was a great honour to be asked to take up this position. My love of Hartlepool United Football Club has always been there, in fact it grows stronger! 

I am currently in Zimbabwe doing one day internationals but I always watch Pools games on iFollow when I am out of the country, so Pools are very close to my heart. My whole family are massive Pools supporters, in fact I had the pleasure of taking my six year old son Jacob to his first game at Pools against Harrogate in the FA Cup, which we won 3-1… he absolutely loved it, sat between my dad and myself, and was jumping up and down when Pools scored!

I have been really impressed with the committee of the Supporters Trust with all the hard work that they do for the club. Having a trust that is democratic, properly run and audited is the way forward to ensure stability at our club. 

We must not forget two other organisations who also do great work, namely the Hartlepool United Supporters’ Association, who have helped the club of decades and Hart of our Club 1908. More recently Her Game Too are also doing a great job promoting the game for all. All four organisations are run voluntarily and have a love for our beloved club. 

Our current league position is worrying but we must all get behind our club over the next four months. The supporters of our club are excellent and the noise they can make home and away will be a major factor in our club achieving safety. We must all get behind the club and support Keith Curle and our owners. Forget the last five months and be united on and off the field. We can’t change the past. 

My dad always keeps saying to me that our club has a DNA of survival, no matter what is thrown at it in our 115 years… our brilliant supporters have pulled us through!

Also a special mention to our supporters who gather in the north west corner. The encouragement and noise they give to our team with the aid of their drummer is awesome. 

All of our supporters though, by getting behind our team both home and away, can make the difference. I have spoken to players and they say the fans are the 12th man and really appreciate the backing. 

All the best and thanks for inviting me to be HUST’s honorary president. 

Michael Gough Jnr