Everything Paul Hartley said ahead of Hartlepool United's visit to Northampton Town

Hartlepool United go in search of their first win of the season against Northampton Town this afternoon.
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Pools have taken one point from their first two games of the campaign after last week’s goalless draw with AFC Wimbledon and here is everything manager Paul Hartley had to say ahead of the trip to Sixfields.

It’s been a quick turnaround, how have the last few days been?

We’ve just been trying to prepare the players as best we can. It’s very quick, it’s obviously something that’s new to myself coming down here because when you’re up the road it’s mainly Saturday-Saturday so you get a lot more time to prepare.

Paul Hartley takes his Hartlepool United team to face Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Paul Hartley takes his Hartlepool United team to face Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Paul Hartley takes his Hartlepool United team to face Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
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It’s just basically been about rest and trying to get your points across. There’s not too much in terms of the volume of training, it’s mainly video and doing a little bit of work.

What do you expect from Northampton?

It’s a tough challenge. They’ve got a lot of quality and they play with a certain style. We have to make sure we cope with that. But then we have to be a threat at the top end of the pitch with how we can play our own game.

There’s no let up in the fixtures, is there?

Hartlepool United are looking for their first win of the season as they travel to Sixfields to take on Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Hartlepool United are looking for their first win of the season as they travel to Sixfields to take on Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hartlepool United are looking for their first win of the season as they travel to Sixfields to take on Northampton Town. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)

You’ve got to pick up points on your travels and you’ve got to make sure your home form is really important and you win games. Every game is tough. We’re not stupid, we’re not naive. We know what’s in front of us. We want to try and get a good result then we’ve got back-to-back home games which will be really important.

Does Pools’ poor record at Northampton hold any significance?

It’s not something I knew or thought about, so thanks for reminding me of that.

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But it’s a new season, it’s a new challenge, there’s new players. We have to go there with a good game plan to try and win the game. We want to try and win every game. The important thing is not to lose. If you can’t win the game then make sure you don’t lose. But we know the challenge ahead of us.

Can we expect changes from midweek?

We want to try and freshen it up again. We gave players minutes [against Blackburn] who’ve not played and who needed games. We had a good performance last Saturday I thought so we’ll look to readdress it again and see what the best team is to try and win the game.

What is the message to the players?

Do yourselves justice. Keep working hard and go and try and put on a good performance.

Are you still relaxed about it all?

I’ve been in the game a long time and nothing really fazes me. I’ve seen lots of things going on in football.

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We’re two games into the season. We’ve managed to pick up one point - we’d have liked more, but it’s a new team that we’re trying to build here, a new way of working, a new system, it’s a brand new culture. But it’s new for me, all of this.

I’m enjoying it. It’s a big challenge, which we knew when we came in, but it’s one that I’ll embrace and one that I’m looking forward to and we’ll just keep working hard.