Crawley Town v Hartlepool United: Pools in fight 'for the long-haul' as Keith Curle's side chase first away win while ex-Bristol Rovers striker is set to miss out

Pools are rooted to the foot of the Football League and head to the Broadfield Stadium to take on a Crawley side buoyed by a notable victory over Swindon Town under new manager Matthew Etherington - a result which moved them nine points clear of Hartlepool.

While former Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United midfielder Etherington was enjoying success in his first outing as Crawley boss, Curle was enduring a harrowing afternoon in charge of Hartlepool for the first time on a permanent basis as they were hit for five by Stockport County.

But the Pools boss is remaining calm in the fact we are not quite at the halfway point of the season and that his side are one of several clubs in the ‘chasing pack’ to climb away from trouble.

“We definitely want to try and keep teams around us,” Curle told The Mail.

“But Saturday’s result, does that mean the season is over? No. If we won on Saturday does that mean the season is over and we could relax? No it doesn’t.

“We’re in it for the long-haul now. This isn’t just a sprint for the next three points.

"I don't know how many points are left to play for, but there’s a lot of points still available and we need a proportion of those.”

Curle added: “We know we’re in that chasing pack and we’ve just got to make sure we get our timing right for when we get our wins.”

Hartlepool's task at Crawley could be made easier by news that forward Tom Nichols is missing for the Reds after the club was subjected to a serious offer for his services.

Nichols missed the win over Swindon with new boss Etherington confirming he will also miss the meeting with Pools.

“That is the reason Tom wasn’t involved last weekend and he won’t be involved on Friday night,” Etherington told Sussex Express.

"It’s an ongoing situation but I am here to concentrate on the players I do have available and making sure they are as good as they can be.”

But while Nichols’ absence will help Hartlepool, Curle knows he will be coming up against a side under new management, with little to go off in terms of his analysis of Etherington’s Crawley.

“We analysed the game. Things went their way in the game and I think the manager will understand that on another day it could have been a different story,” Curle told The Mail.

“He’s been in a week, their squad and team haven’t changed but they’ve gained three points against a good team in Swindon.

“He’ll be working out how things went their way, why things went their way and also then identifying they will have some frailties in their team as well.”

Curle added: “Internally, within their football club, they will know they’re not safe. There’s other football clubs above Crawley that know they’re not safe.

“Matthew will be getting to know the remits of his new role. He’ll be getting to know the players and what he’s got and you always have a better view of players when the team wins.”