Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor assesses Ebbsfleet United threats ahead of National League match at Stonebridge Road

Pools claimed an impressive 4-1 win at Yeovil Town on Tuesday night in the FA Cup in what was Challinor’s first game in charge.

They’re back in action on Saturday as they look to climb up the table following a defeat at Solihull Moors last time out in the National League.

Challinor’s men travel to an Ebbsfleet side currently sitting 22nd in the table with four wins from their opening 20 matches of the 2019-20 campaign.

But when analysing Pools’ weekend opponents, Challinor feels the side have the potential to be a lot more dangerous than their league position would suggest.

When discussing Ebbsfleet’s personnel, the Hartlepool manager commented: “Alex Reid is going to play upfront for them and obviously he did well for me last season in terms of scoring important goals.

“We know that with him and Gozie Ugwu at the top end of the pitch they’re both mobile and both will cause a threat.”

“They’ve got a team full of experience and if you looked at their team on paper with what they’ve got, you wouldn’t have them in the position that they’re in.

“But that’s the nature of the league, it’s really, really close and can turn around really quickly but you certainly can’t rest on your laurels.

“Regardless of what squad you’ve got or players you’ve got, the league can be quite unforgiving.

“If you do get into a run where you’re not winning football matches, it becomes difficult at any level.

“You just have to look at the top level for that in terms of how confidence is affected.

“They’ll be a threat, they’ll be a challenge for us but it’s a challenge that we’re more than capable of dealing with and I know what we’ve got in our dressing room will be a challenge to them as well and hopefully they’ll be more concerned about us than we are of going there and getting a result.”