Hartlepool United manager Darren Sarll is confident he has the right balance and blend in new look backroom staff

Featherstone, who will be 36 in September, is Hartlepool's sixth highest appearance maker of all time and is one of the last remaining vestiges of Dave Challinor's 2021 promotion-winning squad.

The veteran midfielder initially left Victoria Park last summer following what he later termed as a "misunderstanding" but returned in October after Pools proved unable to replace him.

Despite more than a decade of service, the former Hull, Hereford and Walsall man has divided opinion throughout his Pools career; his critics suggest he is too slow and negative in his passing while his supporters hail him as a cultured, intelligent footballer.

For all that his merits continue to be debated, it's difficult to dispute his contribution to the club; he has amassed more than 400 appearances and has spent much of the last few years skippering the side.

It is perhaps telling that he has been one of the first names on the teamsheet under almost all of the countless managers who have sat in the Pools dugout during his time at the club.

Even so, Pools were admittedly a bit leggy and lacklustre in the engine room last season and both Tom Crawford and Callum Cooke were released at the end of the campaign.

Featherstone, who is due a testimonial and hinted in April that next season could be his last, signed a new player-coach contract that Sarll, who professes to be a big fan of the midfielder's, described as "transitional".

Following the additions of Jack Hunter and Nathan Sheron, both of whom are almost 10 years younger than Featherstone, it remains to be seen how much of a role he'll have to play on the pitch next season; according to Sarll, he remains very much in his plans.

Carl Dickinson, meanwhile, who played under Sarll at Yeovil, has spent the last couple of years in a variety of strength and conditioning, coaching and playing roles; the 37-year-old was a regular in the Congleton Town side that were crowned Midland League Premier Division champions last season.

As a player, the former Stoke, Watford and Port Vale man was renowned for his commitment, dedication and charisma, meaning it's no surprise he managed to strike up a good relationship with Sarll.

Given his background in strength and conditioning, it's likely the new assistant manager will have an important role to play in the gym, with Sarll wanting to transform Pools from a side that was, for the most part, passive and pedestrian last season into one of the National League's fittest and most front foot outfits.

And Sarll is optimistic that his new coaching set-up will help propel his side to National League success.

"Carl's a really interesting one," he told the club website.

"He's in a little bit of a niche because, first and foremost, he's a brilliant, brilliant professional.

"Wonderful to manage - charismatic but very, very good to manage.

"He brings that level and standard; he's played from the Premier League down to non-league.

"When he finished playing he went off on a bit of a tangent with his coaching, and also his personal training, strength and conditioning.

"What I've always found in my career is that a strength and conditioning role can sometimes be lent to someone a little bit younger.

"What you can sometimes lack if you're going from Darren Sarll on the coaching pitch, who is that type of character, and then you're flipping and you're going completely the other way into the gym, which is a massively important facility to us, you can lose that mentality, that edge, that drive and desire to push, and to keep being determined to improve yourself.

"What I wanted to do with Carl, apart from being incredibly trustworthy and a really good coach, is I wanted him to be that character in the gym, another Darren Sarll.

"So, whatever the message is, that desire to keep pushing and that mentality to keep improving is always echoed in whatever room we're in.

"I think, with Nicky, the most important thing in the upcoming weeks is to get him fit, and to make sure he's as fit as the other players.

"We don't know how pre-season will finish, we don't know how it will conclude in terms of players and availability.

"He's still a very, very good player, let's make no bones about it.

"Looking at the physical data from last year, Nicky was in the top three highest performing, which he doesn't get enough credit for - that's obvious.

"The first thing we want to do, we want him to be a player, and then, slowly but surely, we'll wind some of that back and bring him into my coaching world.

"Doing some mentoring with some of the younger players will be hugely beneficial I think to, not only him, but those players.

"We want to use that connection with Hartlepool - he's here because, when I close my eyes and think of Hartlepool, I see Nicky Featherstone.

"The connection with the club, the connection with the town and the area, is absolutely vital for me."