Dave Challinor aiming to restore Hartlepool United pride after Boxing Day collapse - and reveals which player will definitely start against Barrow

Pools were thumped 4-1 at Harrogate Town to leave them 14th in the National League ahead of the visit of Barrow, top on goal difference.

Pools will welcome Mark Shelton back into the starting XI.

Challinor said: "It’s my job to give the fans a team that they’re proud of and they certainly aren’t proud of them after Boxing Day so we’ve got to make sure that come five o’clock on Saturday they are more proud of us than what they are at the moment.

"We’re fine going into Saturday.

"Any selection decisions will be around deciding whether to freshen things up with a game in a quick space of time.

"It’s difficult to say based on the Harrogate performance that I’m not looking at making a few changes but at the same time I’m not going to make rash decisions.

"We’ll go with a plan looking to win the game and we’ll make decisions that suit how we’re looking to play."

Challinor added: "One thing I will say is that Shelts missed out on starting at Harrogate due to the surface and picking up a bad injury at Salford so the surface isn’t great for him.

"He’ll come straight back in on Saturday because he made a big difference for us against Dagenham and was missed at Harrogate."

Ahead of the visit of Barrow, Nicky Featherstone added: "Barrow were out of form in terms of the results when we played them earlier in the season but I think the performance was always there because they gave us a really tough game.

"I know their manager and he said the results they were getting earlier in the season were particularly disappointing because they were playing well.

"They’re a team who are always in the game because of the way they play because they keep possession well and are a threat going forward.

"It will be a tough game but if we want to be in and around the top seven we need to be beating these sort of teams."