Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor delivers strong message to forward players including former Norwich City striker and Sheffield United loanee

Seven games into the new league season and David Parkhouse is the only recognised forward to have found the net so far with one goal to his name.

Parkhouse also found the net in the 6-0 FA Cup win at Ilkeston alongside fellow attackers Luke Molyneux, Joe Grey and Mason Bloomfield.

But with defender Ryan Johnson, midfielder Gavan Holohan and own goals tied for Pools’ top scorer in the National League so far this season with two goals, Challinor is demanding more from his attacking players.

“It’s tough for me, without sounding the wrong way, I’m taking the goals against Ilkeston out of them,” said the Hartlepool manager.

“I focus at the league and the goals we score in those games because that’s the level we’re at and our strikers have scored one goal between them and that’s something we’re looking at.

"Across the board, they all need to improve, no goals or assists for most of them if you take the cup game out of it.

"Claudio [Ofosu] has a goal, Gav has obviously got a couple but that's not enough. We’ve got data and statistics to back it up and our forwards are not getting in the areas often enough and we need goals at the top end of the pitch.

"You can work on the finishing, if we were having chance after chance and not putting them away then you can work on that but we’re not seeing our forward players gamble enough and when they are getting the chances, they’re being squandered.”

Moving forward, Challinor intends to keep working with the players he has at his disposal with the hope of getting a result.

“Analysing things, we need to be, not edgy, but we need our players to trust what we’re doing,” he added.

“There’s pressure on players at the top end of the pitch and pressure on them to put the ball in the net but that can’t lead to anxiety at either end of the pitch.

"We’ve got to keep concentrating – if we’re missing chances we can’t let our heads drop.”

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