After making his debut as an 18 year old in 2001, Antony Sweeney spent a couple of seasons on the fringes of the first team squad before finally establishing himself towards the end of the 2003/04 season. Given his first extended run in the side by Neale Cooper, Sweeney repaid his manager`s faith with a series of excellent performances at the heart of midfield. He chipped in with a couple of goals including one in the playoff semi-final at Bristol City. Sweeney`s good form continued into the 2004/05 season when he became a fixture on the teamsheet. He suffered a setback when he was dismissed at Milton Keynes after an altercation with Dons striker Izale McLeod, but returned from a three-game suspension to register the first hat-trick of his career in the 3-2 win against Chesterfield. That treble was part of an excellent return for Sweeney that season and his 14 goals from the centre of midfield were an important factor in the club`s run to the play-off final. Sweeney remained a regular in the side throughout the next eight seasons as the team suffered relegation under Martin Scott`s management only to bounce straight back with Danny Wilson and establish themselves as a League One outfit for six years. He top-scored with 14 goals from midfield in 2010/11, scoring a second hat-trick against Yeovil and winning the Player of the Year accolade from the supporters. He scored nine more in 2011/12, a useful contribution at a time when the club lacked a prolific forward. Sweeney's goals dried up during a disappointing season both personally and for the team as a whole. In 2013, with Pools back in League Two and a new management team in place, Sweeney was named as captain for the 2013/14 season but his appearances were limited. With Brad Walker, Simon Walton and Matty Dolan holding down regular places in the midfield, Sweeney made just three league starts in what would be his last season as a Pools player. He spent the next two seasons at Carlisle United before joining the Pools staff in September 2016, rising quickly to first team coach. He had a brief spell as caretaker manager following Craig Hignett's dismissal in 2019, a position he reprised two years later when Dave Challinor left the club to take the Stockport job. A popular figure within the club and on the terraces, you suspect his HUFC story is not yet complete.