 Hartlepool's form never recovered and after a run of just twelve points from fifteen games, he was sacked on 15 January 2017 following a 1–0 defeat at Crawley Town.Hignett returned to Hartlepool in March 2018 as the club's Director of Football.Following the dismissal of Matthew Bates in November 2018, Hignett took temporary charge of the first team in addition to his role as director of football.