Hartlepool United manager Nicky Featherstone calls for a response as Pools look to bounce back against Braintree Town

Pools are bidding to bounce back following successive defeats, with Saturday's humiliating FA Trophy exit at the hands of Northern Premier League Division One Midlands side Anstey Nomads widely regarded as one of the worst results in the club's entire history.

For all that result might have been embarrassing, Pools know that a win in Essex will go a long way to helping put it behind them. Having been outfought by a Nomads side who play their football three levels below Pools, Featherstone called a team meeting on Monday as his side look to produce a strong response at Cressing Road.

While the Trophy debacle will likely forever be remembered as a low point in the proud history of Hartlepool United, Pools will be well aware that it could become a mere footnote to their season if they can secure a National League play-off place.

Although Pools were beaten 2-0 by a resurgent Yeovil in their last league fixture, Featherstone's side had been on an impressive run of seven matches without defeat - including four wins and three draws - prior to that. That run had seen Pools revive their faltering play-off push while also securing Featherstone the manager's job on a permanent basis - or, at least, until an ominously titled "review of performance" set to decide his fate and therefore his managerial future at the end of the season.

While it might feel as though the last week has been overshadowed by doom and gloom, Pools head into Sunday's game with more than a fighting chance of gatecrashing the top seven. While it's true that both seventh placed Southend, who are two points clear of Pools with two games in hand, as well as Scunthorpe, who are sixth and boast a seven-point cushion, have the upper hand at this stage, Featherstone's side know that another unbeaten run could soon turn the advantage back in their favour.

Sunday's long trip to a Braintree team who are balanced precariously above the relegation zone, then, could well provide Pools with the perfect opportunity to return to winning ways. Having narrowly avoided relegation last season under the wily Steve Pitt, the Essex outfit lost many of their star players over the summer - including winger Jermaine Francis, who scored eight times in 30 matches for the Iron last term but returned to parent club Barnet before sealing a permanent move to Pools in July - and have found things tough going so far.

Having lost both of their last two games heavily, going down 4-0 to Halifax before suffering a 3-1 defeat to National League South side Ebbsfleet in the FA Trophy, Braintree were dealt a further blow in the week when popular holding-midfielder Marley Marshall-Miranda completed a permanent transfer to National League rivals Boreham Wood.

For both teams, then, Sunday's game feels like a significant one. Pools know that a win could lift them into the play-off places for the first time since September, while Braintree will be painfully aware that defeat could see them slip into the bottom four.

Given how the league is beginning to shape up, there is a growing feeling that Pools can ill-afford to drop too many more points against sides lower down the division, especially ahead of a potentially pivotal run of fixtures between Christmas and the new year; there will be even more pressure on Boxing Day's visit of Scunthorpe, one of their direct rivals for a coveted play-off place, as well as the trip to league leaders Rochdale on December 30, if Pools fail to get past the Iron on Sunday.

"I don't know what's been said (about the defeat to Anstey Nomads) to be honest, I don't read too much. Whether it's good or bad, I think it's important for me to stay away from that side of things," Featherstone told The Red Radio.

"Everyone's disappointed, we know it wasn't good enough, we've challenged the lads and we've addressed it with them. I won't accept that moving forward.

"It's an opportunity, like every other game is, to get back on track. I don't want to lose back-to-back league games, and we can't afford to because of the spell we had just before we came in.

"Any setback looks like a massive setback at the minute, even though the form in the league - one defeat in eight - has been pretty good. We're in an ok place considering, I know it doesn't feel like that after Saturday's performance and result.

"With the new signings this week, Pharrell (Brown) getting his loan extended and people coming back from injuries in the next two or three games, we're starting to look like a much better and healthier squad. It's important for us to get back to winning ways."

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