Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick weighs up his full-back options

Limbrick will take charge of his first Pools game after veteran manager Lennie Lawrence announced his decision to step down in favour of the 41-year-old earlier this week. Limbrick, who has managerial experience with the likes of Woking, Welsh side The New Saints and Gibraltar's Manchester 62, was widely expected to succeed Lawrence in the summer, although the timing of the changeover has come as something of a surprise. The Australian-born boss, who becomes the first non-European to sit in the hotseat at the Prestige Group Stadium, takes charge with 17 National League games remaining. Pools are just three points outside the play-off places but face an uphill battle if they're to sneak into the top seven, with most of their rivals having at least one game in hand while Altrincham have two and Rochdale, the current occupants of the coveted seventh spot, have four.

The first task for Limbrick will be to re-energise a Pools squad who are winless in their last four matches, scoring just three times. Lawrence, who tended to favour a settled side, chopped and changed a bit towards the end of his tenure, switching between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-4-2 formation while he was criticised for fielding three defensive-midfielders in the same XI at league leaders Barnet last month. Limbrick is renowned for playing an attractive, free-flowing and possession-based brand of football but inherits a squad largely assembled by outspoken former boss Darren Sarll, whose main concerns were combativeness, competitiveness and physicality. So, while Limbrick will likely look to make some changes in terms of both style and approach, he will not be naive to the footballing reality as he looks to prove he is the right man to lead Pools in the long-term.

Limbrick is set to have a number of tactical and selection decisions to make this weekend when Pools travel to South London to take on a Sutton side who are unbeaten in their last seven matches. One of those looks to be at right-back, where Nathan Sheron was preferred to Dan Dodds against Braintree last Saturday. Sheron, the only Pools player to have started all 32 games this season, has impressed in both midfield and defence and reverted to right-back for the first time since Boxing Day in Essex. The 27-year-old produced another commanding performance but it remains to be seen whether Limbrick will stick with him in defence or return him to midfield.

Dodds has struggled to rediscover his best form since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him out for almost all of last season. After starting the season opener against Yeovil, he missed more than a month following a hamstring strain and has been in and out of the side ever since. Dodds was sent off in November's draw with Eastleigh and struggled to regain his place in the side after his return from suspension as Sheron impressed in his absence. He eventually returned to the XI on New Year's Day and had started four games in a row before being dropped for the trip to Braintree.

"I think there probably could be a decision to make there," Limbrick said.

"Both, equally, have done well in that position. Both are very different players. Sheron obviously adds good value in midfield, I think he's done really well and has been an ever-present for us. He's a good character and he understands what we want to do.

"I see Dodds as having a lot of potential. Depending on the different style and the way we want to play, he can add something in his own right and he offers us a lot going forward.

"Sheron had a run at right-back when Dodds got suspended after the Eastleigh game and he did really well in there. He's flexibile, so he can play multiple positions.

"Dan can improve and he's pushing to get back in, he's training hard and he wants to get back into the side. I like Doddsy, I like them both."