Hartlepool United interim manager Nicky Featherstone expecting "a competitive game" when Pools make long trip to Eastleigh
Hartlepool United's interim manager Nicky Featherstone is targeting all three points when Pools make the long journey to Eastleigh on Saturday.
Under normal circumstances and given the amount of travelling involved, a point at the Silverlake Stadium tends to be considered a good result for Pools, who are gearing up to make the 615-mile round trip to Hampshire this weekend.
Even so, Featherstone, who is set to take charge of a seventh match since the sacking of Simon Grayson, insists Pools will be playing for all three points against a Spitfires side who are without a win in their last four games.
Although a run of five matches unbeaten has seen Pools revive their faltering play-off hopes, the gap between themselves and seventh placed Southend widened to five points following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wealdstone while Scunthorpe, who are sixth, are nine points clear of Featherstone's side.
That means they'll need to put a run of wins together at some stage if they're serious about gatecrashing the top seven, with Pools not having recorded back-to-back victories since August.
With a trip to Eastleigh, who are 14th, followed by the visit of a Truro side who have managed just two points from 10 matches on the road so far this season, then, the next fortnight could provide Pools with the perfect chance to pick up six points and remind some of their rivals of their possible promotion credentials.
Of course, much of the talk leading up to Saturday's game will once again be about the hunt for a new permanent manager, with almost six weeks having passed since the sudden dismissal of Grayson.
Pools drew criticism from sections of the fanbase on Thursday following a "club update" that revealed the search for a new boss "remains ongoing" despite interest from "some excellent candidates"; where that leaves Featherstone, who has spent more than a decade at Victoria Park and is the club's third-highest appearance-maker of all time, is unclear.
All the 37-year-old, who remains among the favourites to be named Grayson's successor, can do for now is focus on Saturday's game against an Eastleigh side who have themselves already made a change in the dugout this term, replacing former Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis with Weston-super-Mare boss Scott Bartlett.
Although it's true that the Spitfires will come into the game winless in their last four matches, Bartlett's side scored late on to secure a hard-fought point against promotion-contenders Carlisle last time out and Featherstone admits he's expecting a tough test in Hampshire.
"Every away game seems to be a trek for us," the interim boss told the official Pools club website.
"We're looking forward to it, it's a nice pitch down there and a good setup; I think we've had a few good results down there.
"It's one we're looking forward to, we've got a few days before then to implement a few more things into the game plan with the lads; we're looking forward to it.
"They (Eastleigh) have only won one of their last five, but in their last two games they've played York and Carlisle and they've gone away to Carlisle and got a result.
"The results probably haven't improved massively since this manager (Bartlett) took over, but the performances definitely have picked up.
"It won't be an easy game, it will be a competitive game but it's one where we'll look to build on the previous five games we've had and see if we can get a win."