Graeme Lee discusses Hartlepool United's travel plans ahead of trip to face Northampton Town

Pools spent the majority of last Thursday on the team bus as they travelled to South Wales for their clash with Newport County and it is something they have had to endure a lot of over recent weeks with a succession of lengthy awaydays.

Graeme Lee made the decision to travel to the recent clash at Walsall on the day of the game having previously made substantial trips on the eve of fixtures.

Pools lost that game in the Midlands with Lee since admitting it was an experiment to see what worked best for his players.

“The travelling has been a lot,” Lee told the Mail.

“For what it takes out of our bodies, and the lads are planning and preparing mentally for games and then mentally going over their own detail in games after the games so it’s tiring.

“You can’t escape it when you’re on the bus, it’s just there continuously.

“So it has taken its toll but it’s one we have to get used to because of the league we’re in.

“These games come thick and fast and you’re travelling all over the place.

“The travelling on the day of the game was something we tried, it was probably a bit of an experiment because we’ve got Northampton coming up.

“But that game is not in between games so I might look to change it up.”

Pools make the trip to Sixfields on Saturday to face another promotion chasing side after last week’s exploits at Rodney Parade and could welcome back midfielder Bryn Morris who completed the warm-up ahead of their victory at Newport.

The Pools boss will also be awaiting news on both Mark Shelton and Joe White who continue their return from hamstring and ankle injuries respectively with the week break from fixtures perhaps favouring Lee.

“I think we’ve only got Mansfield and the Easter weekend from now so that part of it is good,” said Lee on the easing of the schedule.

“The game after game after game feels as though you’re just managing the team and not working on areas, or not getting enough information or working on things you really want to work on, so it’s nice to have the opportunity.”

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