Hartlepool United captain Ryan Donaldson not putting up with mediocrity as he makes his ambitions clear

Hartlepool United are just two points outside of the National League play-offs places after 11 matches, but that’s not good enough for skipper Ryan Donaldson.

By Dominic Scurr

Published 18th Sep 2019, 11:45 BST

Updated 18th Sep 2019, 12:45 BST

Ryan Donaldson of Hartlepool United is shown a yellow card by referee Tom Reeves during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Woking at Victoria Park, Hartlepool on Saturday 7th September 2019. (Credit: Mark Fletcher | MI News )

Despite defeat last time out, Pools have recovered well from their slow start to the campaign and could potentially climb into the play-off places with a victory at home to Dover Athletic this Saturday (3pm kick-off).

When asked if he was content with being so close to the play-off places with a quarter of the season played, Donaldson responded: “Not really to be honest, we want to be in there and we’ve had chances to get in there.

“We’re not shying away from the fact that we want to be in the top seven.

“But football is great because we’ve got another opportunity on Saturday and we’ll have another good week and training and look forward to that.”

National League