Contract Situation Could Help Us Insists Pools' Boss Hignett

The Pools have a number of key players out of contract at the end of the season including Scott Loach, Nicke Kabamba and top-scorer Liam Noble.

And with the club's summer rebuild gathering pace behind the scenes, Hignett is keeping an open mind.

"The lads who are still here are all still playing for their futures," he said in an interview with Hartlepool Mail.

"We have a budget to work with but the lads here need to prove they want to be here.

"We have a lot of players up in the summer which is great in some ways as you can start with a clean slate.

"I am not bothered, though," he added. "The pool of players we have to pick from is so big.

"We have got a good enough scouting network to know who is out of contract in the summer at clubs and where they could fit into the squad next year - we are all gearing towards that right now."

Hignett has already added Fraser Kerr and Gavin Holohan to his squad in the last month.