Can a resurgent Hartlepool United still be considered play-off contenders?

Whether a natural optimist or not, most football fans will find it hard to avoid thinking or dreaming about their side's chances of a title charge or promotion push when a new season comes around.

Pools fans know better than most the importance of keeping their feet on the ground, but until the first ball is kicked supporters will do their best to find, focus on or even invent reasons to feel positive.

Sometimes against their better judgement, Poolies have headed into each new season with at least some cautious optimism - 572 fans travelled to Walsall to watch Paul Hartley's side lose 4-0 on the opening day of the 2022/23 campaign despite a calamitous summer that included an abortive trip to Portugal.

Especially in recent seasons, it hasn't taken too long for any lingering optimism to dissipate and even when Pools have started well, winning four of their first five under John Askey at the beginning of last term, the club have spent more time battling at the bottom of the table than challenging at the top.

Yet ahead of the current campaign, it felt less like supporters were clutching at straws and more like there were genuine reasons for optimism.

Pools managed to keep hold of Mani Dieseruvwe and Joe Grey, who scored 38 goals between them last season, Luke Waterfall and Tom Parkes had solved many of their side's defensive issues while the National League was expected to be far more open than it had been in recent years.

The one outstanding question mark was, of course, whether Pools made the right decision to replace popular manager Kevin Phillips with the straight-talking Darren Sarll.

For all Phillips appeared to have exceeded expectations - winning four of his first five games and ending the campaign on 60 points - some fans seemed unable to overlook the humbling 7-1 defeat at Gateshead, while others felt his tactics were too negative when defending a narrow lead.

While Sarll might have lacked a lot of the glamour of the former England international, he arrived having already led both Yeovil and Woking to the National league play-offs and made a positive early impression with the fans thanks to his unflinching promises of robust, energetic and high-pressing football.

And as Pools started to announce a raft of new signings, cautious optimism started to turn to confidence as the club pursued a refreshingly focused approach to recruitment, targeting players with links to the North East, records of remaining injury-free and with considerable National League experience.

Pools signed three new central-midfielders as Sarll embarked on a complete overhaul of the engine room, added pace and power out wide and the club secured a real coup when Adam Campbell agreed to drop down two divisions after helping Crawley win the unlikeliest of promotions to League One.

Pools took seven points from their first three games but it wasn't long before cracks started to appear.

Fast forward a couple of months and supporters have already said goodbye to Sarll, who managed just four wins from 15 games and alienated almost the entire fanbase with his route one tactics and abrasive post-match interviews, endured more than six hours of football without a goal at home and watched their side slide down the National League table.

Yet, all of a sudden, there is a renewed hope at Hartlepool United.

Veteran Lennie Lawrence, one of a select few managers to have taken charge of more than 1,000 games, has steadied the ship and led Pools to five points from their last three matches, including a dominant 2-0 victory over Aldershot last time out.

One of the many complaints often levelled at Sarll was the fact he rarely seemed to get the best out of what looked to be a talented squad; while last season John Askey was heavily reliant on a handful of talented individuals, the group Sarll helped assembled looks, on paper at least, to be more than capable of competing towards the top end.

The likes of Mani Dieseruvwe, Joe Grey, Anthony Mancini, Adam Campbell and Luke Charman add considerable firepower in forward areas, midfielders Nathan Sheron and Nicky Featherstone are both enjoying blistering starts to the season while full-backs Dan Dodds and David Ferguson as well as centre-halves Tom Parkes, Luke Waterfall and Billy Sass-Davies have all proven themselves at this level before.

Lawrence has changed the shape, altered the "pressing philosophy" and given the players more freedom to express themselves and, all of a sudden, Pools are showing signs of becoming the side supporters have long hoped for.

Despite a run of four games unbeaten, Pools still find themselves 15th in the National League table but there is at last a sense that things are starting to look up.

It's certainly not too late to mount a play-off push - there are still 32 games remaining and Pools are just four points outside the top seven - while the squad looks to have the quality and, in some areas, the depth to crash the promotion party.

In all likelihood, the two months leading up to Christmas will be decisive in determining whether Pools can be considered serious contenders.

The first thing on the club's agenda has to be appointing Sarll's successor.

Since Lawrence admitted that all possibilities remained on the table following last week's impressive win over Aldershot, it's started to look increasingly possible - even probable - that the 76-year-old might continue in the role for longer than expected.

Pools might also be tempted to appoint a younger and less experienced man - Graeme Murty, who has established a reputation as an excellent coach while at the helm of Sunderland under-21s, former Black Cats skipper Lee Cattermole and current Scarborough Athletic boss Jonathan Greening have all been linked with the vacant role - with Lawrence acting as a mentor.

Whatever route Pools choose to go down - and both look to have distinct advantages - it feels important that the club are able to provide some clarity to players and fans prior to the trip to leaders York next weekend.

While Lawrence has stressed the importance of not rushing, a sense of being in limbo is unlikely to cultivate the atmosphere and environment needed to help propel Pools up the table.

Having been dumped out of the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage for only the second time in their history last month, Pools are in the midst of a fortnight without a game and in this case it feels like no news would not in fact be good news; whether the club announce someone new, stick with Lawrence or vow to continue their search, some communication would feel like a step in the right direction.

On the pitch, the festive period promises to be a real test of the Poolie mettle.

Pools travel to leaders York, fourth placed Gateshead, eighth placed Solihull Moors and host third placed Barnet and fifth placed Oldham within the next two months.

Given such a testing run of fixtures, if Pools can remain within touching distance of the top seven come the New Year, then perhaps people will begin to look up and take notice.

Just 16 games into the new season, Pools fans have already endured one of the most contentious, divisive and tumultuous campaigns in recent memory.

However, this time last year as the slide down the table under John Askey started to quicken its pace, supporters were already beginning to lose hope.

Yet, this time around, the upturn in form under Lennie Lawrence means Pools are beginning to build up some momentum and supporters have something to hold onto.

In all likelihood, they'll need to pick up a couple of high profile scalps before Christmas to keep themselves in contention but, crucially, hope remains. A promotion push is certainly not impossible.