Craig Hignett feels Dover Athletic's long journey to Victoria Park will not be an advantage to his Hartlepool United side

With Pools travelling upwards of 10,000 miles over the course of the season, Hignett understands all too well the impact travelling long distances can have.

But the United boss feels there’s an abundance of evidence to support that a game is never won or lost on the team coach – it’s the 90-minutes on the pitch that counts.

Pools have been on the receiving end of such an instance already with season as Sutton United endured a horror 300 mile journey to Hartlepool on the opening weekend of the season before scoring twice in the opening 25-minutes and running out as eventual 3-1 winners at The Vic.

Dover have also done the same previously.

“They’ve travelled up on the morning before and come up and beaten us so for me it’s all down to the players’ mindset,” Hignett said.

“It’s how positive they are and you can always make a long journey out to be a four day camel ride it all depends on the mindset of the players.

“Some teams I’m sure will look at it that way but we’re the same when we go down to Dover, Eastleigh and some of the London ones.

“Our travelling compared to theirs is miles more so it’s all about the players they’ve got and the type of characters they’ve got.”