Hartlepool United captain Ryan Donaldson hoping to create 'own atmosphere' during season opener against Aldershot Town

Pools kick-off the 2020-21 National League season against Aldershot Town at Victoria Park this weekend (3pm kick-off).

While Donaldson is excited to lead the team out for the new season, it won’t be the same without supporters present.

“It feels good to be back, it’s been a long road,” the United skipper told The Mail. "But it’s definitely going to be difficult to get that buzz because the fans are such a big help to us.

"It’ll be down to us to create a positive atmosphere as much as we can, if we can start the game well and create our own atmosphere from with in without having to rely on fans because they’re not going to be able to help us for the foreseeable future.

"We’ve got to find another way of getting ourselves going when things are against us. It’s another challenge but it’s one that we’ll try and work out as we go.

"I don’t think anyone has experienced anything like this before but it’s the same for everyone and we’ve just got to get on with it.

"We’re obviously starting a bit later than everyone else which is disappointing but they’ve managed to sort it out eventually and it looks as though it’s going ahead so it’s all about looking forward to Saturday now.

“We’ve been back training for a while now so we feel ready to go and we’re looking forward to it.”

After beating Gateshead 4-1 in their final pre-season match last Saturday, Pools’ focus this week has been on Aldershot.

"The gaffer sent a link of their last friendly against Tonbridge so we’ve got a few clips to work from,” Donaldson added.

"Even though it’s pre-season and it could completely change, we’ve at least got some sort of idea what they’re about and what we’re up against.

"It’s just so unknown at the minute and we’ve just got to try and be better than them and put our game on them. We’ll be ready for it and hopefully, we can start the season with a good result.”

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