Hartlepool United boss Nicky Featherstone relishing prospect of pitting wits against Carlisle United manager Mark Hughes
Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against Carlisle United boss Mark Hughes on Wednesday evening.
Having come from two goals down to secure a remarkable 4-3 win over Solihull Moors on Saturday, Pools are preparing for three home games in succession. With Carlisle, who are third in the National League having won all of their last three matches, the visitors on Wednesday, Featherstone's side are set for a free Saturday before welcoming relegation-threatened Sutton United and well as Halifax Town, one of their direct rivals for a coveted place in the top seven, next week.
If Pools can come through the next three matches with, say, six, seven or even nine points, then they'd lay down a real marker to their rivals and, in all likelihood, move to within touching distance of the play-off places. However, the reverse is also true and Pools will be well aware that a run of poor results could extinguish their promotion ambitions for good this term.
Featherstone's immediate focus will be on the visit of a Carlisle side who won the reverse fixture 3-1 back in October and boast one of the biggest budgets and best squads in the division. Having suffered back-to-back relegations, a Carlisle side packed full of quality are under significant pressure to mastermind an immediate return to the Football League, with anything other than promotion likely to be written-off as a failure.
One man who is used to dealing with high pressure situations is Carlisle boss Hughes. The Welshman has played and coached at the very highest level, making well over 300 appearances for Manchester United and turning out for a host of Europe's biggest clubs including Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
As a manager, Hughes spent five years at the helm of Wales and has taken charge of several Premier League clubs including Blackburn, Manchester City, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers, Stoke and Southampton. Having dropped down the divisions to take the reins with the Cumbrians, the 62-year-old admitted he was taking on one of the biggest and most unique challenges of his managerial career.
Featherstone is very much at the opposite end of the experience scale as he looks to lead Pools to the National League play-offs in his first ever job in management. Having overseen a dramatic win over the Moors at the weekend, the Pools boss insists his side are relishing the prospect of entertaining their rivals on Wednesday.
"I'm really looking forward to testing myself against a manager who has managed his country, managed Man City and in the Premier League with numerous different teams," he said.
"For me personally, I was a Man United fan growing up. I watched a lot of his goals, he was a scorer of very, very good goals; I remember him most for what he did as a footballer and I'm looking forward to going up against him.
"It'll be nice to see Gav Skelton (former Pools first team coach), who is part of the coaching staff there, as well. It's one I'm really looking forward to."