Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson determined to make Victoria Park "a fortress" ahead of first home game of new season

Pools, who kicked off their new National League campaign with a solid albeit unspectacular stalemate at Yeovil last week, are gearing up for their first home game of the season this weekend. Pools are set to entertain a Braintree side who finished 17th last term, four points clear of the relegation zone, but will arrive in the North East as the division's early pace-setters following a statement win over Halifax, who finished in the play-offs last season, in the opening round of fixtures. Despite losing both Kyrell Lisbie, who scored 14 goals in 42 games last season, and Jermaine Francis, who joined Pools in July following a successful loan spell at Cressing Road, Steve Pitt's side made the perfect start to the new campaign thanks to a debut brace from Lewis Walker and a header from Colchester loanee Frankie Terry, who returned to Essex this summer having spent the first half of last season with the Iron.

The pressure is on Pools to win their home games if they're serious about challenging for a play-off place. Last term, they managed just eight wins from their 23 matches at Victoria Park, drawing 11 and losing four. Yet fans won't have to think too far back for a reminder of how hostile a place their home ground can be for opposition teams; in the 2021/22 season, with Pools back in the Football League and coronavirus restrictions lifted, Victoria Park soon earned a reputation as having one of the loudest, most passionate and imposing atmospheres in the country. While it might also be true that the Vic can be a difficult place for Pools to play when things aren't going well, the home atmosphere has the potential to be a huge asset this season if Grayson and his side can bring the feelgood factor back to the North East.

"We want this place to be a fortress," Grayson told BBC Radio Tees Sport.

"We want our supporters to be as vocal as possible in a positive manner, and we have to give them something to cheer about. I know what the crowd demands - if it means somebody making a lung-busting run and a tackle, Hartlepool United supporters are just as happy to see that, or someone win a 50-50 challenge, as they are seeing somebody dribbling past a defender and hitting the crossbar. We've got to play on the front foot, we've got to play with our head as well as our heart and make sure we don't make silly mistakes or get undone needlessly and get carried away with the emotion of the first home game. All these factors contribute, but I think everybody's really looking forward to it.

"The games we've had in pre-season, we've had the backing of the supporters. Now the league's come along, there's a bit more riding on these games and we're going to need the supporters. We know we're going to need to give them something to cheer about as well."

Your next Hartlepool United read: Pools boss relishing pressure ahead of first home game of new season