Hartlepool United manager Dave Challinor outlines National League points targets as he eyes another play-off push

Pools have accumulated an unspectacular 28 points from their first 21 league matches this season.

And as we approach the midway point in the season, new boss Challinor is striving to find the key to a turnaround in form that will see United surge up the table.

The 44-year-old has made the play-offs in each of his two seasons in the National League with AFC Fylde.

Despite Pools sitting five points off the top seven, Challinor is more than aware of the hard work that will be required for him to continue that record at his new club.

“In this league, and this was the same when I was at Fylde and even with us getting into the playoffs two years in a row, I don’t think you can be flippant enough to think that’s going to happen again,” he admitted.

“So my aims at the start of the season was to obviously get to fifty points as quickly as possible.

“I think it’s shown that the teams that do well in this league in previous seasons have sometimes gone on to be relegated a couple of seasons later. So that’s my first aim.

“Target-wise, it’ll probably take 75 points to get into the playoffs and maybe a little bit less this year the way things are going and around 90 to win the league.

“If we can get as many points as we can as quickly as possible, great, but, if you’re asking me now if we won our last game and it gets us a playoff place, I’d absolutely take that.

“I don’t think you can look too far ahead, we know what it will take in terms of numbers, in terms of targets.

“Our target is to win on Saturday, then gradually, move forward and I know it’s cliched, but take it game by game.

“If you can win two, three, four games on the spin, the nature of this league dictates you will move up the table really, really quickly and that’s what we hope to do.”