A former manager of Hartlepool United is taking legal action against supporters for comments posted on a fans' Internet message board.

Solicitors acting for Mike Newell, now the boss of Second Division rivals Luton Town, have lodged a libel complaint in the High Court.

It is not known how many supporters have received copies of the claim, but a solicitor acting for one, a teenage fan from Hartlepool, last night confirmed the action.

Steven Horsley, of law firm Tilly, Bailey and Irvine, said: "The allegations relate to Internet postings but I know not what the specifics are.

"I have requested clarification to what was alleged to have been written from Mr Newell's solicitors."

Mr Newell, who won the Premiership as a player with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, has lodged the libel action in Liverpool through Merseyside law firm Carpenters.

Neither Mr Newell, 39, of Southport, Lancashire, nor his solicitor, John Carpenter, could be contacted by The Northern Echo yesterday.

Mr Newell never enjoyed a good relationship with Hartlepool fans after replacing crowd favourite Chris Turner at Victoria Park, and left the club after only six months, despite guiding Pool to promotion last season.

Two Internet sites - one run by Pool fans and the other by supporters of Luton - were closed down after complaints about a flurry of messages between the two following Mr Newell's move last summer.

It is thought some of the discussions on the message boards surrounded father-of-five Mr Newell's social life.