Keith Curle gives this message to Hartlepool United supporters ahead of Rochdale clash

It was a hugely disappointing afternoon at the Priestfield as Hartlepool succumbed to bottom-of-the-table Gillingham in a 2-0 defeat.

The result left Curle’s side in the bottom two ahead of another crunch fixture as Rochdale head to the Suit Direct Stadium.

The two sides met just four weeks ago on Boxing Day - a game which saw Hartlepool secure a significant 2-1 victory at the Crown Oil Arena courtesy of Callum Cooke’s spectacular free kick in the closing stages.

That result against Rochdale gave Pools hope they would be able to climb away from danger in the table but, since then, Curle’s side have taken just one point from a possible nine available and have been dumped out of the FA Cup.

But despite what was a frustrating afternoon at the Priestfield, Curle remains upbeat about Hartlepool ahead of the visit of Rochdale.

“Gillingham are not guaranteed to stay up because they beat us. Likewise if we go and win [against Rochdale] it doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to stay up,” said Curle.

“It's a process we’ve got to go through now and we need people to stay on board.”

Asked how he can keep people on board with him, Curle told The Mail: “We’re still trying to bring players in and we’re still trying to improve the squad.

“We’re still working with the players we’ve got to improve them and give them a better understanding of how we get out of it.

“We’ll be good. We’ve got two more players that will be in the starting line-up, making their debuts for the football club, so that will be four new signings. We’re still in negotiations with others.

“Stick with us because I know what I’m doing.”

Curle is likely to welcome defensive duo Peter Hartley and Edon Pruti into his squad for the visit of Rochdale while there will be hopes Cooke is able to return from injury having missed the defeat at Gillingham.