Craig Hignett reveals his message to Hartlepool United squad as they look to end winless run

Pools have failed to register a victory in ten games in all competitions, but the caretaker manager is keen to see side turn a corner this weekend.

And his message to his side this weekend will be to ensure they take the positives from the narrow defeat to Dagenham last weekend.

Despite the late collapse at the Super 6 Stadium, Hignett will be reiterating the plus points of a performance which was among some of the better seen this season.

“We showed a lot of positives and I’m one of those people who tries to take the positives out of everything,” he said.

“And I’ll reinforce those to the players because I thought they were great.

“You live and die by your substitutes as a manager, and I have to hold my hands up and take that on the chin.

“But in terms of the performance and what the players did, I think they can go into this week with confidence despite the [run of] results they’ve been on.”

And training this week - which continues to led by Hignett and Ged McNamee as Hartlepool continue to search for a new manager - has been fixed on Pools.

Rather than trying to stop Saturday’s hosts, the interim management team are keen for their side to focus on their own assets.

And Hignett, a former striker, is well aware that goals win games - meaning he is therefore encouraging his players to think about how they can be more effective in front of goal.

That focus is especially important given Maidenhead’s poor defensive record.

Having shipped 44 goals already this season - more than any other side in the National League - the Magpies’ poor defensive record is one weakness which Hignett will be looking to exploit this weekend.

“I’m focusing on what we do, I’m not really looking at the opposition and how to stifle them,” he said.

“It’s all about how we’re going to score and keep up the same level that we did on Saturday.

“If we go and play like we did on Saturday, and continue that, then we’ll win more games than we lose.

“You always look at the opposition and for weaknesses to try and exploit, that for me is the manager’s job.

“You’ll always look at a team and think where can you attack and where are they weak.

“It’s just part and parcel of it.

“What I mean by we don’t look at them is, all the training is geared towards the lads and how are we going to score goals.

“Instead of stopping goals, I want them to be more positive and expressing themselves and thinking about what wins games - and that’s scoring goals.”