Dave Challinor reacts to Hartlepool United being top of the National League table and his big disappointment

It's the first time Pools have won three straight league matches since Dave Challinor took charge at Victoria Park last November.

And the 4-0 win at Maidenhead United on Saturday afternoon sees Hartlepool top of the National League table for the first time since they were relegated to the fifth tier in 2017.

There may be 41 matches still left to play this season, but winning matches is always a good habit to get into.

“Winning football matches is difficult and looking back, I can’t remember us winning three games on the spin before,” Challinor said.

“As a manager, I have to look at how things move on quickly and to win four would be unbelievable, but we have an opportunity to do that against Bromley now and that’s what our target is.”

Pools are among the favourites for the National League title this season. While the early promise is there, Challinor wants to see his side keep building momentum.

“It’s a great start and I couldn’t have asked for anything more but it’s a long season and things can turn around really quickly,” he added.

“The main thing for me is getting a consistency, we’d do very well not to lose a game all season, it’s going to happen at some point.

"But it’s important we learn from every game and if we do lose then we bounce back quickly. Keeping this run going as long as possible will be important, even if we can’t win, as long as we make sure we do everything we can to get something from the game – draws are great if they come with wins either side of them.”

Despite the start, there remains a sense of disappointment for the Pools boss.

"I’m really happy with the start my big disappointment is that our supporters aren’t able to be here to enjoy it and be part of it,” he continued.

“Hopefully by the time they come back we’ll still be giving them something to shout about. Hopefully they tuned in and not turned it off at half-time [against Maidenhead] and ended up enjoying our second-half performance and the three points.”

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