Emmanuel Dieseruvwe addresses Hartlepool United's return to National League action against Ebbsfleet United

Hartlepool are back in action for the first time in a fortnight when they welcome recently promoted Ebbsfleet to the Suit Direct Stadium.

John Askey’s side are looking to arrest an alarming run of form which has seen them lose their last four games in all competitions.

In that sense you could argue the break from league duty, whilst the FA Cup first round took place, came at a good time for Pools as they look to regroup and kick-start their season once more.

And for star man Dieseruvwe, who has been the club’s shining light so far this campaign with an impressive 11 goals to his name in just 17 league appearances – including five in his last four – the break has provided an opportunity to work on certain aspects as a team, with the striker relishing the chance to take to the field once more and get Pools’ season back up and running.

"We’re really looking forward to it. It’s a game we can go into with the hope of getting three points,” he said.

"It’s been a long two weeks without a game. We’ve done a lot of prep and a lot of focus on certain things and the boys are ready to go.

"I think you’d prefer to go straight back out there and play another game to put things right, but it’s been a good two weeks. The first week was intense, we got a lot of load into our legs, and the last week we’ve done a lot of things on shape, so we’re fully prepared for the game.

"With the analysis we’ve done we know they like to play, they’ve got some good forwards, some quick forwards, so we’ll have to come out quickly and press them to try and stop them playing and then we’ll go from there.

“I’m confident going into every game I’ll have an opportunity to score. We just need to keep it out at the other end and have a good base to build from.”