Hartlepool United v Leyton Orient: John Askey hopeful his side can turn draws to wins as Pools welcome 'best team' in League Two

Despite remaining unbeaten since being appointed, John Askey has seen his side drop back into the bottom two following their 2-2 draw with Bradford City after a nightmare set of results elsewhere last weekend.

And things could, potentially, get worse for Askey’s side as they face an Orient side looking good for promotion to League One having been in the upper echelons on the table throughout the season with just five defeats to their name.

And with Crawley Town hosting Rochdale this weekend, ahead of their final game in hand over Pools next week, Askey knows his side need to be able to find a way to hold onto the leads they have found themselves in over recent weeks to convert three points.

But that won’t be easy against the side Askey has described as ‘the best team in the league.’

He said: “We’ve got to work out a way of how we stop them from playing and when we’ve got it, how we’re going to play and try and create chances.

“Leyton Orient are probably the best team in the league, I’ve seen them play and they’re a team who plays attractive football and they’ll open you up if you allow them to.”

Askey has been able to take encouragement from recent performances as Hartlepool have taken points away from teams in the top half of the table such as Bradford and Northampton Town.

And the Hartlepool boss is confident a win won’t be too far away if his side can continue replicating that kind of performance.

“It’s not dull, it doesn’t do any good for my heart, I know that. I just enjoy watching players expressing themselves and working hard and that’s what they’re doing so that’s the enjoyable part,” Askey said.

“It’s difficult as a manager because everything is about the results but if we keep doing that, hopefully we’ll get a result

“You’ve got to have the freedom to play and they are doing. So if they keep playing like that surely we’ve got to start getting wins.

“The main thing, when you’re down there, is creating chances and scoring goals and eventually we’ll get the three points we need.”