Uncharacteristic, lacking threat, error-strewn - Matthew Bates dresses down his Hartlepool United side after Bromley loss

The manager cut a frustrated figure after his side were resoundingly beaten by clinical Bromley on Saturday to make it three National League losses on the bounce.

And Bates accepts his strikers need to start producing the goods to help his side’s ailing backline.

“We lacked that but it has been lacking all season, lets be honest about it,” said Bates.

“We need a striker to score more goals - at the moment they are not and it is putting pressure on the defenders. They will score but we still have to defend better anyway.”

On Pools’ defensive horror show Bates thinks the performances in recent weeks have not been a fair reflection on the quality of his backline.

But he does accept Saturday, just like seven days previous against Sutton United, was not up to scratch.

“The goals we have given away - all four of them - were very poor,” said Bates.

“It really hasn’t been like us in recent weeks. Over the course of the season we have defended well.

“We have to just dust ourselves down.”

While emotions were running high in the hours after the game, Bates was not willing to pick through the bones of defeat.

Instead the manager, showing experience beyond his years, will go through the horror show, scene by scene with the players in Peterlee today.

“We will go over it with a fine toothcomb on Monday and work out what went wrong,” said Bates.

“It is emotional in the aftermath of the game but we will assess it this week.

“We will look at it with a clear mind Monday.”

“I didn’t see the second half performance coming - at half time we were confident we would get back in it. We capitulated.

“We are not happy, the players, the coaches but we have to get on with it and move on.”