Nicky's Dover The Moon For An Opening Day Reunion

The 29-year-old will face his old club on August 5th after the National League fixtures were revealed today.

Deverdics spent two seasons with the Whites before signing for Pools and also had a short loan spell with Chris Kinnear's men last season, as they narrowly missed out on the play-offs.

While the club will be familiar to the creative midfielder, the Dover players perhaps not so.

"My first reaction is that I won’t know anybody!" he the Hartlepool website.

"I knew a lot of the lads when I went back last season but for this year there has been a massive turnover of players and I think there are only three left - and of them I only know Connor Essam and Mitch Walker.

"It will be a strange because we’ll be coming up against Dover players but I won’t know them so it will be a bit different, to be honest!

"It’s a really good club though. Things went really well for me there so I have a massive affinity with Dover, along with the gaffer, Jake (Assistant Manager) and the rest of the staff who are still there.

"Some of the lads have been talking about wanting to get long trips like Dover out of the way early on in the season but obviously it’s gone the other way and they’ll be coming here so it’s one I will be looking forward to."

And on the final day match-up at Tranmere Rovers, Deverdics said: "That could be very interesting because it could mean something.

"We have nothing in our minds but to push for promotion and get this Club back in to the League as soon as possible and I expect Tranmere to have a right go again too.

"Given all that, it’s a fixture that could definitely mean something at the end of the season so it’s definitely a bit fruity!

"All the lads have been talking about the fixtures coming out and now they are it adds another level of excitement to the preparations so we just all can’t wait to get going."