Gavin Cowan warns Brackley Town will have to be at their best ahead of long trip to Hartlepool United

Cowan led the Saints to a memorable campaign last term, knocking Pools out of the FA Cup before pipping a number of bigger sides to the National League North title. Having won promotion, the Northamptonshire outfit have adapted well to the level above, winning two and drawing three of their opening seven matches. Pleasingly for Cowan, there is a real sense that the Saints have produced a number of impressive performances; even their defeats against Yeovil and well-fancied Carlisle, who boast one of the biggest budgets in the league, were close calls. Rather than a team of high-profile superstars, Brackley are a collective and their spirit, organisation and determination means Pools, who are looking to end a run of four games without a win, can expect a tough test on Saturday.

Despite their strong start, the Saints will make the long trip to Victoria Park without a win in their last four matches. Having drawn with Tamworth and Scunthorpe, Regan Linney's 79th minute goal condemned them to defeat against Carlisle before Archy Taylor's late equaliser denied them all three points at 10-man Aldershot last time out. Yet there have been far more positives than negatives at St James' Park so far this season; Brackley boast one of the best performing defences in the division having conceded just eight times in their opening seven matches, while the Saints have been competitive in all of their games so far.

For Pools, there is a similar feeling of optimism and confidence ahead of this weekend's game. Although a return of just three points from the last 12 available is undeniably disappointing, a strong start to the campaign means Simon Grayson's side remain in a play-off place. Like Saturday's visitors, Pools have been rock solid at the back, keeping five clean sheets in their opening eight games, although goals have proven harder to come by. Having lost Mani Dieseruvwe, who scored 43 times in 89 appearances during two prolific seasons at Victoria Park, to Rochdale over the summer, Pools moved to sign Alex Reid, fresh from finding the net 17 times in 32 matches for Wealdstone last term, and Danny Johnson. While Reid has made a reasonable start to life in the North East, bagging three goals in his first eight games, Johnson has found things tough going and is yet to open his account for his new side. Indeed, no player other than Reid has scored more than once this season and their tally of nine goals makes Pools the second lowest scorers in the top half of the division; Mani Dieseruvwe, meanwhile, has found the net seven times in his first seven matches for Rochdale.

As Pools fans will surely agree, however, there is no point in dwelling on what might have been had their side been able to keep hold of their talismanic top scorer over the summer. Pools must now put their best foot forward in a bid to get their new-look front line firing, and Simon Grayson's side welcomed experienced frontman Vadaine Oliver to Victoria Park in the week in a bid to give them a different option up top. While not the most prolific of goalscorers, particularly in recent years, Pools are hoping the veteran's size and power will help bring the best out of the likes of Reid, Johnson and Luke Charman, who spoke of his determination to avenge last season's humbling FA Cup exit when he sat down with the press in the week.

So, Saturday's clash promises to be a tightly contested game between two sides looking to maintain some of their hard-won momentum. A couple of good results for Pools, and Simon Grayson's side could well cement their promotion credentials, while a continuation of their winless run risks seeing them slide back into mid-table. For Brackley, for whom survival surely represents success this season, a point at Pools would be another statement of intent as the Saints look to put some distance between themselves and the bottom four. Certainly, Cowan is expecting a stern examination when his side make the long trip to the North East this weekend.

"The players have been in need of a midweek break because it's a new league for us, a hectic schedule, it's non-stop," he told the Northampton Chronicle and Echo.

"The players have earned a rest, a week of ticking over, bringing them down a little bit. We're going to have to be at our best this weekend because Hartlepool have recruited really well. They've got lots of good players, we go there and it's another good test for us. But if you look at what happened at Aldershot and in previous weeks, we're more than capable when we're at our best. We can be a tough test for anyone so let's be a bit more ruthless in front of goal and there's a lot of hope moving forward."

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