FC Hartlepool kick off the new Ebac Northern League season with a visit to Darlington Town on Friday night.

FC Hartlepool are ‘ready to go’ as they prepare to travel to Darlington Town in the opening game of the Northern League Division Two season.

That was the verdict of assistant manager Mark Loynes as he looked ahead to Friday night’s visit to Eastbourne Sports Complex in what is the first competitive game of the new Northern League campaign. The game will mark the first of FC’s fourth season as a step six club and they have improved year-on-year throughout that time by racking up fourteenth, ninth and fourth placed finishes.

FC Hartlepool management team Terry Hill (L) and Mark Loynes (R) (Photo Martyn Tweddle) | Martyn Tweddle

placeholder image — FC Hartlepool management team Terry Hill (L) and Mark Loynes (R) (Photo Martyn Tweddle) | Martyn Tweddle

Thoughts of securing a historic promotion into the Northern League’s top tier were ended by a penalty shoot-out defeat against Jarrow in last season’s play-off semi-final - but securing a top five spot could be viewed as progress in itself. Loynes is now looking forward to trying to go at least one step further during the new season - although he warned his side they face a major challenge after a whole host of their Division Two rivals strengthened their squad during the summer.

He told The Mail: “It will be a tricky game at Darlington Town and it’s a bit of a derby too. We’ve always had tough games against them and that goes all of the way back to our Wearside League games. But our pre-season has gone really well, we have strengthened our squad and we are ready to go this season. Play-offs are the minimum target for us and it has to be after what we have done in recent seasons.

“Every year in the league we have improved and with the fourth place last year, we have to look to better that. Your aim is always to win your next game - but we have to look to finish higher than fourth place this season. We know that won’t be easy. A lot of teams have recruited well and a lot of teams fancy themselves. There isn’t a standout side in the league this year. A lot of them have recruited very well and they’ll feel they have a chance and I include ourselves in that as well.”

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