Matthew Bates reveals the reason he's certain Hartlepool United will break their mid-season '˜blip'

The Pools boss believes he signed the right kind of players in the summer to deal with their National League mini-crisis.

And he’s backing his players to dig themselves out of a hole, which has seen them lose their last three fifth tier matches.

“We have got good characters in there,” he said of his Pools dressing room ahead of the weekend trip to Gillingham in the FA Cup first round.

“It is for situations like this we brought in the type of player we did. And now we are going to need them.

“They can help make sure the group sticks together and gets out of this.”

Form is temporary, class is permanent is how the old saying goes.

It’s a rule Bates abides by.

“It is a blip. It is a blip that has gone on for too long. Three games is a long blip,” said Bates.

“We need to get back to winning ways.

“It is a long, old season. We have the FA Cup then we have the opportunity to pick our league form back up at home. We need to improve.”