Peter Hartley set for second Hartlepool United debut against Rochdale

Hartley started for Colin Cooper’s side on the opening day of the 2013-14 campaign at the Crown Oil Arena where Hartlepool suffered a 3-0 defeat thanks to goals from Scott Hogan, George Donnelly and Ian Henderson – who is also likely to feature this afternoon.

Since then, Hartley’s career has taken him to Stevenage, Plymouth Argyle, Bristol Rovers, Blackpool, Motherwell and, most recently, Indian Super League side Jamshedpur.

But, after missing last week’s defeat to Gillingham through suspension, Hartley is set to see his career turn almost full circle after completing his return to Hartlepool earlier this month.

For Hartley, however, the emotions of stepping back out onto the Suit Direct Stadium pitch will take a back seat - with the 34-year-old insisting he is here to do a job.

“I’m not sure if it will be emotion based. My only concentration will be on beating Rochdale, but it will be nice to play in front of the home crowd, the club I support,” said Hartley.

“But we’ve got a job to do, so that’s my main priority.

“It was frustrating [missing out last week]. I was chomping at the bit all week in training.

“But I would rather it happened this way than being able to play two or three games and then have to miss one.

“You’d rather get it out the way and then you’ve got a run of 21 games and my job now, and my sole goal, is to stay in the team and win games.”

Speaking on his last appearance for Hartlepool back in 2013, Hartley told The Mail: “I remember it.

“It’s a coincidence, but it’s also a different dimension. It was the first game of the season, I got put in at left-back by Colin Cooper which is not my natural position but I remember the game.”

Hartley has been brought in by manager Keith Curle to bring experience to what is, statistically, the worst defence in the league when it comes to goals conceded.

But the defender, who is set for his second debut with the club, was keen to play down the pressure of the meeting with Rochdale, a side just one place and one point above Hartlepool heading into the game.

“It’s just another game to be totally honest,” said Hartley.

“We know exactly what we need to do but if we play to our full potential it doesn't matter who we play against in this league. There’s not much between the bottom teams and the top teams.

“If you play well on the day you win the game. The team that makes the least mistakes wins the game.

“I’ve watched three games in the last few days; Rochdale-Bradford, Rochdale-Colchester and the Rochdale-Newport game and every game has fine margins.

“You’ve got to make sure you do the hard work. You’ve got to run faster and harder than the person you’re playing against and sometimes you’ve just got to complete the pass.

“Teams are playing a lot in straight lines and it's very predictable. So I believe if we play to our potential we’ll win the game.”