Exclusive:Gary Liddle reveals what Hartlepool United new boys must do to get Victoria Park behind them ahead of Barrow
Hartlepool United will face Barrow at Victoria Park on the opening day of the new National League season.
Hartlepool United’s new look squad have been told what they must do to capture the attention of the Victoria Park faithful ahead of Saturday’s National League opener against Barrow.
The visitors will arrive looking to take the first steps towards recovering from suffering relegation from League Two last season after they were unable to preserve their EFL status during the final 90 minutes of the campaign. For Pools, the aim is to go in the opposite direction with a major overhaul of their playing squad and the appointment of Lee Clark as new head coach fuelling optimism over a possible push for promotion.
The meeting with the Bluebirds will offer an opportunity for a whole host of new signings to make an immediate impression on the Pools faithful during their competitive debuts - and first-team coach Gary Liddle has identified two qualities they must show to get The Vic fully behind them.
He told The Mail: “We’ve been unfortunate in recent years where the supporters have had to travel to Yeovil on the first day so it’s a good one for them. We know they will come and support the new players and get fully behind them and they know how important that is. It will be just as good for the players to experience The Vic in their first competitive game because we have a massively supportive fanbase and they will soon realise that if they work hard and put the effort in, the fanbase will get behind us and propel us to where we want to be.”
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Optimism
Clark’s men rounded off their preparations for the new season with a hard-earned pre-season friendly win against League Two side Fleetwood Town on Saturday afternoon as summer signing Corey McKeown grabbed the only goal during the final minute of the game. There can be no question it has been an overwhelmingly positive pre-season for the new Pools head coach after his side claimed wins in five of their six friendly fixtures and produced a promising performance in their sole defeat against a Grimsby Town side expected to impress in League Two during the new campaign.
Liddle admitted an exciting summer on and off the pitch at The Vic has left a feeling of optimism for what lies ahead over the coming months and described the pre-season schedule as ‘beneficial for many reasons’. He said: “It’s not my first pre-season and they always drag towards the end - but it’s certainly good to get through pre-season on a real positive and there is a lot of optimism about the place. It is a new group of players and a new group of staff and it’s been a beneficial pre-season for many reasons. Now that’s over and done with, we are fully concentrating on Barrow and it’s one that we are all looking forward to and we have been since the start of pre-season. There is optimism around the place.”
Liddle was talking after taking part in the ‘Let’s Kick Diabetes’ charity match at South Shields FC. The fundraising target of £10,000 has now been surpassed but donations can still be made here.
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