Graeme Lee pleased with February form despite Hartlepool United's defeat at Walsall

Although he was left upset with his Hartlepool United players in their defeat at Walsall, Graeme Lee is keen not to go overboard with his reaction.
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The Pools boss was angered by what he saw from his side at the Banks's Stadium as he witnessed their eight game unbeaten run come to an end with a limp display against the Saddlers.

Pools were beaten 3-1 and never really looked like they were able to compete with the intensity of the home side which was perhaps a side-effect from such a tough schedule in recent weeks.

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But despite their defeat, Lee and his side can look back over the last month with a bit of pride in that they have taken 13 points from a possible 18, a return which sees them joint-second in the form table over the last few weeks with only Exeter City’s return of 14 points a better total.

Graeme Lee admits it has been a positive month for Hartlepool United as they have climbed into the top of of the League Two table (Credit: James Holyoak | MI News)Graeme Lee admits it has been a positive month for Hartlepool United as they have climbed into the top of of the League Two table (Credit: James Holyoak | MI News)
Graeme Lee admits it has been a positive month for Hartlepool United as they have climbed into the top of of the League Two table (Credit: James Holyoak | MI News)

Not only that, it is a run which has eased any fears of Pools slipping into a relegation battle after a run which saw them win just one of 13 games throughout November, December and January.

Ahead of this weekend’s trip to Harrogate Town, Pools are currently 12th in the table and still on the coattails of the play-off places, just six points behind.

And Pools boss Lee admits if you had offered him such a positive return at the beginning of what has been a physically demanding month, he would have taken it.

“We’ve had a fantastic February,” said Lee.

Hartlepool United have won four of their six League Two matches in February to ease any potential struggles. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)Hartlepool United have won four of their six League Two matches in February to ease any potential struggles. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
Hartlepool United have won four of their six League Two matches in February to ease any potential struggles. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News)
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“The points we’ve got on the board we’d have all snapped your hands off for.

“Because we’ve finished on the back of this performance you get disappointed but the whole general outcome has been good.

“And I said that to them, it’s been a great February but you’ve got to reflect on your performance today and how we approached it.

“We’ll watch it back and see the what’s and why’s.”

But despite a good run of form in February, Lee will be looking for a reaction from his players as they travel to Harrogate this Saturday lunchtime.

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Lee allowed his players the day off on Monday to help with recovery after such a number of games, and such lengthy travel, in recent weeks.

But the Pools squad will return to training on Tuesday where Lee is expecting them to have that fire in their belly once more.

Lee told The Mail: “ We have to learn and not accept this because it’s not acceptable.

“But where we are, and what we’ve done this month, has been very good and very positive.

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“It’s now about the reaction. What do we do? How do we react in our training sessions?

“The standard in training, I expect them to be firing on Tuesday and back at it and if we can do that we can brush this one away.

“The run we’ve had, those games are gone. So when we get in on Tuesday, this game has gone.

“It’s about what we do now going into the Harrogate game.”

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