Dave Challinor gives insight into Hartlepool United tactics and system ahead of cup test

Pools kick-off their Christmas run of fixtures this weekend with their first of three games against Halifax Town, this weekend in the FA Trophy followed by two National League fixtures over the festive season.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, Challinor has given an insight into his plans.

Challinor said: “It’s an interesting one with systems to be honest.

"I always based my systems around what we do out of possession.

"In terms of us being 4-4-2, Gav [Gavan Holohan] played on the left but he’s not a left midfielder, that was just our shape out of possession where we had Gav shuffle across.

"At times, we became 4-4-1-1 which again is a little bit like 4-3-3 which is what we tend to play.

"For me, it’s what our shape is in possession that allows us to go and affect the game.

"Down the left side, Fergie will provide the width so Gav can come inside where he’s most effective where he can time runs, get into the box and continue his record of getting chances and scoring goals.

"Systems and shape is also dependent on what the opposition do.

"If the opposition have four players at the top end of the pitch, naturally, we’ll end up playing as a back five so we have one more.

"It’s our shape out of possession that we’ve tweaked and we’ll continue to look at things and how we can best use the personnel we have.”

Meanwhile, Challinor also wants to see more consistency from his players.

He added: “Performance wise, we had some consistency about us but the last few weeks we’ve been up and down with where we’ve been at.

"The best teams, if they’re very good, win leagues but it’s the most consistent teams over the course of the season that are right up there and have the success.

"We haven’t done anything different with our preparation, we’ve prepared the players right for games and showed them what to expect but we’re reliant on them applying that in a game.

"But if you can’t do the basics then you’re not going to get the results you need,” added the Pools boss.

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