Robbie Stelling previews Sutton United clash

Hartlepool Mail

Rich Mennear and the Hartlepool Mail’s Hartlepool United writer Robbie Stelling preview Pools' clash with Sutton United at the weekend on the latest episode of the Poolie Podcast.

Transcript

00:00Just finally then, Robbie, looking ahead to Sutton away on Saturday.

00:04Feather, Winderstander will be in charge for the game.

00:06He's obviously limited in terms of how many changes he could make to the team,

00:10given the injury situation, but hopefully a couple of defenders back.

00:12John, I guess, will be allowed back,

00:14given that he wasn't allowed to play in the Cup game by York.

00:18Yeah, John's return will be really positive.

00:23He's obviously been perhaps the outstanding outfield player so far this season

00:29and obviously not having him for the two Cup games.

00:31And of course, for the league game when Pools played York as well,

00:35was a big blow.

00:38And perhaps it does give Featherston a little bit more scope in terms of flexibility,

00:42whether he wants to go with a back three or a back four.

00:46But the number one message has got to be you need to show a bit more fight,

00:50a bit more desire, passion and commitment.

00:54Look, we all said at the start of the season that we felt that this was a really competitive squad.

00:58A squad capable of challenging for the playoffs.

01:02I don't believe that we were far wrong in that.

01:06Yes, things haven't turned out quite as many fans would have hoped.

01:10You look at someone like Danny Johnson,

01:11who was expected to really thrive after dropping down to National League level.

01:15It hasn't worked out so far,

01:18but I still think that there is potential within this squad.

01:22Nicky Featherston called it a fragile group on Tuesday night.

01:25They need to do some work to try and patch themselves up.

01:29They've got to be much stronger mentally.

01:31They've got to be more prepared to take the game by the scruff of the neck

01:34because they actually have now a decent run of National League fixtures.

01:39If they can get a couple of positive results,

01:42they can bring some positivity back to the place.

01:44They obviously met a long trip to Sutton on Saturday,

01:46followed by a couple of winnable home games.

01:49So there is potential there to pick up some points

01:52and hopefully breathe new life back into this season.

01:55Of course, on the other side of the coin,

01:56if pools have another few bad results,

01:59then things could start looking really precarious indeed.

02:03Look, Nicky Featherston knows the club better than pretty much anybody else.

02:06He knows what's expected from the fans.

02:10I think he will try and get them going and gee them up.

02:14But something needs to change.

02:15I think you've got to try and breathe new life into it in some way.

02:20So I would imagine that there will be certainly one or two changes.

02:22Having Jermaine Francis back as well is going to be a big positive.

02:25I know he featured from the bench on Tuesday night,

02:27but of course, Sterling just come back from international duty.

02:31So I'd like to see more purpose,

02:32a little bit more intent from pools on Saturday

02:35because it's a potentially winnable game against the Sutton side

02:37who have had a really difficult season themselves,

02:40but of course have recently made a change in the dugout as well.

02:44So it's certainly a game that I think pools need to try and be positive,

02:47get on the front foot and just be a little bit more purposeful,

02:51a little bit more proactive

02:51because we certainly don't want a repeat of Tuesday night

02:55because that was, I think, one of the lowest moments

02:56in the club's recent history.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended