Carlisle United v Hartlepool United: Jamie Sterry in line to continue for Pools

Sterry made his return from injury having missed the last three games in all competitions with a groin problem picked up in the defeat to Mansfield Town.

The 27-year-old featured on the right of Keith Curle’s side and forged some promising signs with Dan Dodds who started on the right of three centre-backs.

Both Dodds and Sterry had a hand in Hartlepool’s goals as they claimed an important three points against nine-man Rochdale with the pair set to continue at Brunton Park as Curle confirmed Sterry’s withdrawal was always in the works.

“That was the plan. That was the agreement I had with Jamie,” Curle told The Mail.

“I said I don't care if you’re on two goals and are looking for a hat-trick. I said to him to give me 60 minutes and then you’re coming off.

“The only thing you’ve got to avoid is waving your hands around and refusing to come off. We had the agreement though.”

Curle also revealed defender Peter Hartley should be okay for the trip to Carlisle after being on the receiving end of a heavy fall under goalkeeper Ben Killip.

But Hartlepool are likely to be without midfielder Callum Cooke who continues to deal with an ankle problem with Curle recently suggesting the club are looking to gain a second opinion on the injury.

“I’ve watched bits of them already, I know their game was off so I can go off their last game,” Curle said on Carlisle.

“If you go back to when we played Carlisle here we were 1-0 up at half-time and we put the message in the changing room that we’ve got to do the basics well and, ultimately, we didn’t do the basics well.

“They did the basics better than us in the second half and scored three goals.”

Meanwhile, having had the weekend off after their fixture with Bradford City was postponed, Carlisle boss Paul Simpson is expecting a challenging fixture following Hartlepool’s win over Rochdale, with the Blues manager keen to ensure ex-boss Curle receives a warm welcome from the Brunton Park faithful having spent a number of years at the club.

“He’s got a very good record, and he had a good record at Carlisle United,” Simpson told the News and Star.

“I hope when he comes we all give him a really good reception. I hope the supporters are good to him because he deserves that.

“But then I want him to go away having had a really tough night, and hopefully taking absolutely nothing away with him.

“On Saturday they had a very good win – they looked strong, big and physical, it was a really determined performance. Which you would expect – they’re scrapping for their lives at the bottom, and I would always expect it from a Keith Curle team as well.

“They’ll be coming here buoyed by that result, buoyed by the way they went about it.

“We’ve got to make sure we forget about league tables and make sure we do our job properly. If we do that we should have enough to get a positive result.”