Dave Challinor's Hartlepool United side 'raring to go' as they eye fourth straight win at Victoria Park despite concerning weather forecast

Pools are set to host Wealdstone (3pm kick-off) as they look to consolidate their second place position in the National League with a fourth straight win.

And after waiting 12 days between matches, Pools manager Dave Challinor is keen to get back playing and get some points on the board.

“We’re raring to go, for us it’s about keeping momentum and moving forward,” he said.

“We go from a busy December to a quiet January. Teams are playing quite a lot of catch up games this month so the table could start to look more realistic so it’s up to us to make the most of the games we have.”

The forecast in Hartlepool isn’t looking too kind as it stands with sub-zero temperatures throughout Friday night and into Saturday morning. And with highs of just 3°C on Saturday, the side face a nervous wait to see if the game will go ahead as planned.

Last weekend, Pools’ National League match at Halifax Town was postponed due to a frozen pitch. It will now be replayed on Tuesday night (7pm kick-off).

And with the side in good form, Challinor doesn’t want to risk losing momentum as he eyes a fourth straight win for the first time as Hartlepool manager.

Three points would also make it four home wins on the bounce for the first time since last February, when the ‘feel good factor’ started to return to The Vic before the season was shut down.

"Gaining momentum and positivity at home is slightly more difficult without fans to be fair,” Challinor admitted.

“I think if you told our players we’ve won our last three at The Vic they’d be like ‘oh really?’ And that’s just because it’s quite a sterile situation when you’re playing behind close doors week in week out and fans aren’t there.

"It doesn’t matter if you're home or away, there are no fans in pretty much every ground.

“It’s strange but it becomes easier when you look at the table, to be sat second, we’ve completed the games we’ve completed and we’re sat in a good position with opportunities coming up to enhance that.”

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