Hartlepool United captain Andrew Davies sets National League point target

Despite a relatively positive show down at the Peninsula Stadium on Tuesday night, Pools were beaten 3-0 by National League promotion favourites Salford City.

To follow that up, though, Pools host Aldershot and Boreham Wood on consecutive weekends at the Super 6 Stadium.
And Davies knows now is the perfect time to get points on the board, with the gap to leaders Leyton Orient now sitting at six points.

“We are not too downhearted about it. It just wasn’t our day,” said the club captain, reflecting back on the Ammies reverse.

“The first half was even then even in the second half they have not created a load of chances. It is just disappointing.

“They are a good team but so are we.

“Maybe up front we needed to be a bit more of a threat and maybe could have held things up but they had two big centre-halves and they were decent.

“We just move on now to the two home games and we expect to win them both.”

Speaking to the players in the aftermath of their midweek defeat it was clear to see frustration was the overriding emotion in the camp.

And while Davies says the players know they can improve, he has urged them to move on quickly with a long way to go in the fifth tier promotion race.

“It is a long, long season. You cannot beat yourself up about defeats,” said former Middlesbrough, Bradford City and Ross County man Davies.

“We will pick up points this season it is just about sticking together and staying positive as we have a good team.

“If we get three points on Saturday then that’s six points out of nine and I am sure everyone would have taken that.

“We wanted to go Salford and win. We went with that attitude and it did not work out for us.

“In football you have to move on from experiences like this. Learn and improve.”

Injuries have been a constant concern for Davies throughout his career.

An ankle ligament problem has restricted his appearances since signing on the dotted line at the Vic.

But the player thinks the fact he missed so many games in his formative years as a defender - between the age of 23 and 27 - that there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.

“I have trained four times so to come back so early just shows how we have managed the injury,” said the 34-year-old skipper, who is contracted at Pools until the summer of 2020.

“I am coming up 34, but I feel young out there. I feel like I could just keep on running out there. Hopefully, things continue feeling that way.”