DEAN McDonald has bid a fond farewell to Hartlepool United - and thanked the club for making him a better footballer.

The striker has returned to Ipswich after a successful one-month loan spell.

McDonald scored once in five games and the crowd took to the former Arsenal trainee during his stay.

And now, after regular first-team football, he has set his sights on a place in Joe Royle's Championship side.

"I have enjoyed myself at Hartlepool,'' he admitted. "The time has gone quickly and that's because I have enjoyed it so much.

"I have enjoyed playing in the team but also the football that we have been playing.

"You always hear that teams in the lower divisions are all about long balls but I have learned there is a lot of football played in this division and that has helped my game. Hartlepool try and play and that has been good for me.

"As a young striker, I am trying to learn my trade and I have learned a lot in my time here both in training and during the games.

"Hopefully I can put what I have learned into practice and it will pay dividends.''

McDonald's only goal came in the win over Bournemouth ten days ago and the striker admitted: "I will have fond memories from my time here - this is where I scored my first league goal and that will stay with me forever.

"The fans were great with me and I want to thank them for that.

"Their support has been great and I think they see that even though it hasn't been going for the side, the players are all working really hard and trying to do their best.

"We haven't been getting the breaks but I believe that it evens itself out over the season and hopefully it will come.

"It is back to Ipswich now and I want to try to get myself in the frame there. Hopefully I can reproduce some of the form I have had at Hartlepool.

"I have had a taste of first team football and that is my goal at Ipswich. As a footballer, you don't want to be in the reserves.''

Martin Scott has bemoaned the lack of cutting edge in his side and McDonald has joined the Pool boss in insisting things will improve in the coming weeks.

He said: "I think the lads can bounce back from Saturday's defeat and in a couple of weeks they have got players like Adam Boyd and Joel Porter coming back and they bring a different dimension to the team.

"They will be a big boost because you saw that when they were in the side they got to the play-off final last season.''

* Macclesfield Town have been fined £62,000 and ordered to repay £195,000 to the Football Foundation following a Football Association inquiry into the funding of their Estate Road Stand.

The investigation centred around a payment made to the previous administration of the Moss Rose outfit in connection to the stand during 2000-02.

Football Foundation regulations forbid clubs to receive any more than 80 per cent of the total funding for any construction project but it has now been established the payment eventually covered the entire cost.

The FA charges centred around two allegations of receiving funding before and without paying contractors for the work, which is also against Football Foundation regulations.

Read more about Hartlepool here.