Hartlepool United looking to continue bright start against Southend United as ex-Grimsby Town and Stockport County forward targets Shrimpers history

Former Grimsby Town and Stockport County man Cardwell has enjoyed a fine start to the new National League season netting in all three games so far for the Shrimpers.

And the 26-year-old is bidding for a little bit of Southend history this weekend where he will become the first player to score in the opening four games of the season since 1962 if he is to continue his form against Hartlepool.

“He’s a big player for us with how he leads the line,” Southend boss Kevin Maher told the Southend Echo.

“The work he does for the team is very important and he’s got to get his fair share of goals, which he’s done so far as well.

“We want to keep giving him chances and in the right areas as well, that’s the important thing.

“We’re pleased with Cards and for the work he does for the team it’s good to get that recognition.”

Maher added on the meeting with Pools: “It’ will be nice to be back in front of our fans again at home and we’ll be looking to hit the level of performance we need to hit.

“We were disappointed to lose the game the other night but the way we performed for large parts of it, and the chances we created, was very good.

“We’ll be looking to do the same on Saturday but we’ll be up against opposition who will try their best to stop us.”

Southend’s first home game of the season saw them claim an impressive 4-0 win over Oldham Athletic which will certainly give John Askey and his side plenty to ponder ahead of their trip to Roots Hall.

Pools have bounced back well from their opening day defeat at Barnet and will be looking to add to what was a maximum haul of points from their back-to-back home games over the last week – something which Askey admits will be important this season.

“You need to do that if you’re going to be successful,” Askey said of the response from his side.

"There’s nobody in the league that we should fear. The only team we should worry about is ourselves.

"We just need to keep reproducing the form that we’re starting to show and that’s a mental thing as much as anything, week-in, week-out trying to do the same things.

"Sometimes we’ll get results and sometimes we won’t but if we keep putting the same amount of effort in, with the ability the players have got for this level, then we’ve got a great chance.”

He added: “As the season goes on you just hope we keep improving.

"We’ve seen that we’ve learned from the first game and the players are getting used to each other and the way we want to play and hopefully that will carry us forward. But football can soon change. We’ve got a tough game at Southend.”