Former Blackpool, Southampton and Crystal Palace striker sees managerial stint at National League side ended

Former Blackpool striker Kevin Phillips has seen his managerial stint at Hartlepool United ended.

A statement from the National League side on Saturday confirmed his Victoria Park exit just three months after his January appointment. The Monkey Hangers have since appointed Darren Sarll as the 50-year-old’s replacement.

Hartlepool were 16th in the table at the time of Phillips’ arrivals, following the sacking of John Askey. They finished the season in 12th, with the much-travelled former forward securing 26 points from his 17 matches in charge.

A club statement read: ‘Hartlepool United can today confirm that Head Coach Kevin Phillips’ contract has come to an end. Further, the Club Board has made a decision on the Manager appointment moving forward and will release more details in due course. Kevin was appointed as Head Coach in an initial deal that took him to the end of the 2023/24 season.’

Pools chairman Raj Singh added: ‘Kevin has done a good job this season since coming in as Head Coach and he’s been great to work with. His remit upon appointment was firstly to make sure that the club retained its current league status and then from there to start looking up towards play-off positions.

‘We had a difficult backdrop and precarious league position when the previous manager departed. We believed that Kevin was the right appointment to navigate through things and in the end he has helped comfortably ensure that the club stay away from any relegation concerns, which at one point were lingering.

‘We put on record our thanks to Kevin and we all wish him the very best for the next steps in his career. He will always be welcome at Pools.’

Phillips, who was previously manager at South Shields, made 64 appearances for Blackpool, scoring 19 goals, following his free transfer move from Birmingham in July 2011. He finished as the Seasiders’ top scorer in his debut season with 17 goals in all competitions and 16 in the Championship - two of which came in his home debut against Peterborough.

The diminutive striker couldn’t carry that impressive form into his second season at Bloomfield Road, though, as he scored just twice before sealing a loan move to Crystal Palace in January 2013, linking up with former Blackpool boss Ian Holloway. 

Phillips retired from playing in 2014 and had coaching roles with Leicester, Derby and Stoke before being named South Shields boss in 2022.