Next man up for Hartlepool United ahead of AFC Wimbledon trip

Keith Curle will be without starting full-back Jamie Sterry after he was shown a straight red card early in the game against Crewe Alexandra - a game which Hartlepool would go on to lose 2-0 and drop back into the bottom two in League Two.

But Pools don’t have long to wait as they face the long trip south to take on Wimbledon looking to bounce back from a concerning defeat.

“It’s got to be the next man up,” Curle told The Mail.

“The lad [Sterry] has got qualities. But we’ve got a squad that’s got balance and we’ve got opportunities. When one door closes another one opens whether that’s a change in personnel or a change in formation.

“We’ve got a better balanced squad now so we can reshuffle.”

In addition to Sterry, who will miss the game at the Cherry Red Records Stadium through suspension, Hartlepool may also be without defender Peter Hartley who remained sidelined with a foot injury in midweek.

Hartley picked up the injury in the win over Doncaster Rovers and missed games against Sutton United and Crewe as a result whilst striker Connor Jennings will be monitored after dealing with a calf issue.

“He’s got a slight bruising and a slight infection on his foot so he was not available to play,” Curle said of Hartley.

“Connor Jennings was feeling his calf just tightening up a little bit at the end of the game [against Sutton]. The more options we’ve got you’re thinking you can give him a rest [but he came on earlier than we would have liked].”

Curle admits he is pleased his side have another game so quickly after what turned into a frustrating night in Cheshire but concedes it will be difficult to analyse the game having played for so long with 10 men.

“We’ll analyse the game and the good bits that we can take out of the game. But the game changes completely on the sending off,” said Curle.

“We’re analysing our shape, we played so many formations and with so many personnel, but we’re here to play games. Wimbledon will be a challenge but we will be ready for it.”