Dave Challinor delighted to see tactical changes pay off for Hartlepool United following unbeaten start

Dave Challinor takes some notes during the FA Cup match between Yeovil Town and Hartlepool United at Huish Park, Yeovil on Tuesday 12th November 2019. (Credit: Gareth Williams)

The new Pools boss is unbeaten in his opening five matches in charge despite trailing 2-0 on two separate occasions before coming back to draw 2-2.

Those late comebacks both came following a couple of substitutions as well as a slight shift in formation which allowed the team to get on the front foot more and advance.

While Challinor would prefer to be winning matches convincingly as they did last week at Chesterfield, he’s happy to see his players buying in to what the new coaching staff are trying to do.

“When you make changes that change games you want to pat yourself on the back because there are plenty of times where it doesn’t happen,” said the United manager.

“As much as you try and affect the game with your substitutions and it doesn’t always come off so when it does it’s really pleasing.

“But it’s all down to the players taking on board what we’re trying to get across and the players who are going on thinking in a good way that they’ll show me and prove a point.

“We’ve spoken about opportunities and they come in lots of different ways. The lads who have came on have affected the games in recent weeks.

We got a great result on Sunday which can only fill us with confidence ahead of another away trip where we’ll look to get another important result.”