Season starts here, insists Pools boss Ronnie Moore

Moore’s side face Wycombe Wanderers at Victoria Park tomorrow, their first league game since December 19.

Games against Notts County, Carlisle and Newport County were postponed due to the weather over the festive period before last weekend’s game against Stevenage was rearranged due to Pools’ FA Cup run.

“For me, our season starts again on Saturday,” Moore said.

“There is still plenty of games to play, I think we have still got 25 games left, but it’s not the end of the world.

“We need to kick on now and this is what we have been saying to the lads, that we have had the break and let’s see if we get back to the standard that we know we are good at. “

Pools’ fixture changes means they now have up to five games in hand on their League Two rivals and are now just two places above the relegation zone.

Moore said: “When we have not played games for a long as we haven’t, and other teams have played, it just puts that little bit more added pressure onto you.

“We might have games in hand on one or two of them, but your games in hand don’t mean anything, do they?

“So it is so vital that we hit the ground running with this one because we have got Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday coming up quite a bit in January and February, so it is just nice to get back to playing football.”

After the weather caused havoc with Hartlepool’s Christmas schedule, they again were disrupted yesterday when just 12 players made it to their Durham training ground due to heavy snow.

Moore said: “A lot of the boys have missed the training because the A19 was closed and there were accidents here, there and everywhere.

“But at least we have got a little bit of work on the all-weather, so we just have to go again today now and no rain and everything will be okay.

“It has gone from rain to snow and now they are talking about it freezing up, so we are going through everything at this present time.

“Hopefully the ground will be alright – it is covered in the right areas so we are hopeful that the game will go ahead there is no real rain forecast, so we should be okay.”

Despite the weather, Pools’ new signing Nathan Thomas did train at the club for the first time and Moore said the winger had already impressed.

He said: “It is hard to tell, but without a doubt (he impressed).”

“You are only playing on 50m by 40m area (pitch).

“I imagine when the pitch is opened up and we are using the width with the pace he has got, he’s going to be a handful”

“We know all about him. I have known him from Plymouth, he has done well at Mansfield and did really well against us when we played there.

“He is only 21, so he has got years and years ahead of him.”