Defiant Hartlepool United boss calls upon supporters to 'help us' ahead of Grimsby Town clash

Pools welcome Grimsby for the second of two games at the Suit Direct Stadium this week, having fallen to defeat against Salford City on Tuesday, with the need for a positive result growing as each game passes. Curle’s side remain bottom of the League Two table and know a win against the Mariners is unlikely to see them climb out of the relegation zone given their goal difference.

And with the club struggling for form, attendances and morale have started to dwindle at the Suit Direct Stadium this season with Curle now issuing a rallying call to fans, signalling their importance in turning things around.

“The important thing now, as a football club, is we need to circle the wagons, which means we need to be very protective of ourselves,” explained Curle.

“We need to make sure that we are a closed group. And that’s not just as football staff, it’s everyone who is encompassed within Hartlepool United. And massively incorporated in that is our fanbase.

“As a football club it is us against everybody else. The swell of our supporters are massively inside that circle. We need them to be vocal and support the team when things aren’t going well.

“We want the supporters to be a massive part of us turning around our results and turning around our fortunes and climbing the table, because we can’t do it on our own. I can’t do it on my own, the players can’t do it individually on their own. We have to be a unit.

“And that’s everybody who’s got an association or an affiliation to Hartlepool United. Help get us out of the situation we’re in now. We know where we’re at, we’re rock bottom. But we will turn it around.

"Every game they turn up to they’ve got to play their part. They’ve got to be vocal. There’ll be things in games that happen which don’t go our way, but stick with us right until the last opportunity.”

But while Curle acknowledged his side will need the support of the fans, he also knows his team need to give them something to shout about in games.

“We’ve got to be ready to put in a performance. We’ve got to be ready to go toe-to-toe. We’ve got to be ready to express ourselves,” said Curle.

“I know they want us to do well, and that’s massive, and that’s the encouragement to the players, but we need to give them something to shout about.

“Whether that’s scoring a screamer going into the top corner, whether it’s winning a 50-50 challenge on the halfway line, it doesn’t really matter, our supporters want commitment. They will appreciate that, they will understand that.

“We’re not where they want us to be, we’re not performing how they want us to perform, and we understand that. I understand they’re not happy with some of the performance levels of some of the players, but at the minute it's about us, and the supporters are a massive part of us.”