Former Middlesbrough star Craig Hignett sacked by League Two strugglers Hartlepool United

CRAIG HIGNETT has been sacked as Hartlepool United manager.

Saturday’s woeful 1-0 defeat at Crawley Town proved to be his final match in charge after Gary Coxall pulled the trigger on Sunday.

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The former Premier League star, who was a huge favourite during his playing days for Middlesbrough and Barnsley, was in charge for just under a year at Victoria Park.

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He replaced Ronnie Moore last February in his first managerial post.

The 47-year-old was unable to help transform the Monkey Hangers’ fortunes around, winning only 14 of his 46 league matches.

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Hartlepool are currently 19th in the bottom tier and are just four points from the drop zone.

They have taken just 27 points from 26 games this season.

Following the latest setback on Saturday, Hignett admitted his side had not been good enough.

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He told Pools Player HD: “The goal is a joke really. We have shown a right-footed played inside to pick out a cross and then we’ve got three centre-halves in there but their top scorer gets a free header. It was criminal.

“We tried everything to get back in to the game but we didn’t have enough quality to score the goal we needed.”