Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick addresses whether his side are lacking in confidence

Tuesday night's 2-1 defeat at the hands of play-off chasing Altrincham marked the end of a bitterly disappointing seven days for Pools. Following their statement win over in-form Sutton, Limbrick's first game in charge, Pools fans had hoped their side would use a run of three home matches within the space of a week to launch their assault on the National League play-off places. However, two draws against Tamworth and Maidenhead followed by Tuesday's defeat against Altrincham all but spelled the end of their promotion hopes, with Pools now staring down the barrel of another season of stagnation and mid-table mediocrity. In a heartbeat, a lot of the positivity that surrounded Limbrick's appointment has evaporated while the frustration and disappointment so familiar to Pools fans has returned.

There have been some positive signs under Limbrick, who has made a number of bold calls, not all of them effective or impactful, while the Australian has proven himself more proactive and aggressive with his substitutions than the pragmatic Lennie Lawrence. The charismatic, ambitious and energetic head coach talks well and there does look to be a plan in place as Pools look to engineer future success. Yet, only four games into his tenure, some fans are already questioning his capacity to lead the side. While most of the criticisms levelled at the new man are unfounded, the fact that there is so much discontent is a clear sign that supporters are not happy with how things are going at Pools, both on and off the pitch.

Tuesday night's defeat to Altrincham laid the club's recent decline bare. The Robins, with a significantly smaller fanbase and far less prestigious footballing history, have risen from the Northern Premier League to the upper echelons of the National League since the appointment of manager Phil Parkinson in 2017. Pools, by contrast, have slipped out of the Football League and have managed just three top half finishes in the last 17 seasons, two of which were unremarkable 12th placed efforts. It's clear that something is not quite right at the Prestige Group Stadium.

In terms of this season, there is a general sense that the squad is better than last term's, who finished slap-bang in mid-table. Yet Pools, who dropped one place to 10th following Tuesday's defeat, don't look like finishing much higher. Limbrick's side have won just one of their last eight games and have appeared tentative, uncertain and lacking in belief of late.

There are concerns that the squad are struggling with confidence. A number of players seemed to find things tough going under outspoken former boss Darren Sarll, who was straight-talking to say the least. While Lennie Lawrence worked hard to improve the belief in the group after he replaced Sarll in October, there are suggestions Pools are still suffering a hangover from the beginning of the campaign. Given that the likes of Joel Dixon, Luke Waterfall, Nicky Featherstone, Joe Grey, Mani Dieseruvwe and David Ferguson have all won promotion from this level before, while Adam Campbell was part of the Crawley side that won the League Two play-off final less than 12 months ago, it's hard to fathom why Pools are not doing better than they are. A wealth of experience, plenty of physicality, a sprinkling of quality but, perhaps, a lack of confidence. Nonetheless, Limbrick does not feel his side are short of belief.

"No, I don't think there's a lack of confidence," he said.

"I can only go on what I've seen since I've come in. There are going to be peaks and troughs throughout the season, that's inevitable. I think results help with that.

"I don't think it's a confidence issue, what we've got at the moment. When you look at the three home games and some of the matches before that, there have been far too many draws and far too many times we haven't got the first goal. I think that's the key, and I think we need to make sure we get over the line more often. I can't really comment on what went on before me."