Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone calls for a response ahead of trip to National League leaders Rochdale
Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone has called for a response as Pools prepare to travel to National League leaders Rochdale on Tuesday evening.
Things don't look set to get any easier for Pools following a run of four games without a victory ahead of their midweek trip to take on a Dale side who are two points clear at the top of the National League table despite having played two matches fewer than both second-placed Boreham Wood and York, who are third.
Indeed, the Greater Manchester outfit have won all of their last seven games in all competitions and Featherstone admits he's expecting a really difficult test on Tuesday evening.
Whatever the case, Pools can ill-afford to drop too many more points if they're to keep their fading play-off hopes, already hanging by a thread, alive.
Having masterminded a run of seven league games unbeaten during a successful eight-week spell in interim charge, Pools have lost three and drawn one of their last four matches since Featherstone was appointed manager on a permanent basis.
Pools suffered their first defeat since mid-October at the hands of a resurgent Yeovil earlier this month before being knocked out of the FA Trophy in abject fashion by Northern Premier League Division One Midlands minnows Anstey Nomads, widely regarded as one of the worst results in the club's entire history.
Featherstone's side failed to get past strugglers Braintree in their final game before Christmas and were beaten at home by play-off rivals Scunthorpe on Boxing Day, a major dent in their hopes of finishing in the top seven.
Indeed, three points on Friday could have lifted Pools into the play-off places for the first time since September but instead Featherstone's side dropped to ninth and are now four points behind seventh-placed Southend, who have two games in hand and edged past rivals Braintree on Boxing Day despite having defender Ben Goodliffe sent off after 45 minutes.
Scunthorpe, meanwhile, have opened up a 12-point gap to Pools and, barring a remarkable turnaround in fortunes, are now all-but out of sight for Featherstone's men.
Yet things could get worse for Pools, with the likes of Solihull Moors, Woking and Wealdstone hot on their tails; another couple of bad results could see Pools slide back into mid-table.
For Featherstone, too, the pressure is beginning to mount ahead of a looming "review of performance" set to decide his fate and therefore his managerial future scheduled for the end of the season.
As Featherstone, who has played under a staggering 20 different managers since first signing for the club in October 2014, will no doubt be painfully aware, Pools are notorious for a lack of patience when it comes to hiring and firing in the dugout.
Rochdale, on the other hand, have kept faith with former player Jimmy McNulty since he took charge, initially on an interim basis, in August 2022.
Yet if Featherstone is to stand any chance of emulating McNulty's success, the embattled Pools boss will need to turn things around sooner rather than later.
"Yeah, it's a tough game," he told The Red Radio.
"They're top of the table, they're there for a reason and they're obviously the best team in the league at the minute. They've got games in hand as well, so we know it will be difficult.
"The manager there has had a good length of time to get things right and implement his way, Rochdale have done it properly.
"They're benefitting from that now, they fell short in the play-offs last season but they look like a really tough team to play against at the minute. They're getting better season-on-season with Jim.
"For us, it's a tough game but, I keep saying it, it's another opportunity to try and upset the apple cart."