Humphreys hailed after hitting 500 mark

Hartlepool chief executive Russ Green has paid tribute to skipper Ritchie Humphreys who recently made his 500th appearance for the club.

Humphreys, 34, who joined Pools on a free transfer after a brief spell at Cambridge in 2001, reached the milestone when stepping off the substitutes' bench in the 2-0 home win over Rochdale in early January.

Green, who presented Humphreys with a framed shirt prior to last weekend's home win over Carlisle, said: "It's a wonderful achievement for Ritchie and we're thrilled for him.

"Ritchie has been - and continues to be - a fine servant to this football club and we're delighted to be able to celebrate another fantastic record for him."

Sheffield-born Humphreys set a new club record for appearances when he eclipsed Watty Moore's 472 games at Exeter in February last year.