It's vital Hartlepool United get points home AND away

Pools play host to promotion contenders Exeter tomorrow when a win could boost their survival chances.

Depending on results elsewhere, Pools could end the afternoon as much as nine points clear of the bottom two, though they have to win themselves first.

Since Jones arrived at the Vic, Pools have been unbeaten on their own patch – two wins and two draws with only two goals conceded.

The form on the road has remained poor, with four straight defeats. “It’s important you use your home advantage,” said Jones. “If you are going to do something at any level, you have to pick up points at home and away.

“We are doing it at home, but not away. Maybe we approach it differently away from home, just to get a result under our belts.

“We never stop thinking about how we get a result, whether it’s home or away.”

But the priority now is tomorrow’s showdown with sixth-placed Exeter, who have racked up a collossal 35 points on their travels – the same figure Pools have in total.

“Exeter are a good side, we don’t expect anything but a tough game,” said Jones, who says getting the first goal of the contest will be crucial.

“Scoring first the other night (against Crewe) was key, but we had showed by sticking in the game we gave ourselves a chance.

“At Mansfield and Luton, it was all over by half-time and we end up chasing the game. Our first half was probably the poorest we’ve played, but we dug in, got a bit of luck with the goal and the second half was a different story.

“We have had good performances without the wins, so it was nice to get the result too.”