Simon Grayson calls for Hartlepool United to have a "positive mindset" as Pools look to bounce back against Brackley
Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson has called for his side to have a "positive mindset" ahead of this weekend's game against Brackley Town.
Pools are looking to bounce back after falling to their first defeat of the new National League season on Saturday, losing 1-0 to league leaders Forest Green Rovers. While there was no disgrace in defeat against a Forest Green side who are unbeaten in their first eight games and there were positives to take from the performance at The New Lawn, Pools are now without a win in their last four and goals are proving difficult to come by. Although there is still plenty of positivity at Victoria Park following a strong start to the season that sees Grayson's side sitting in the play-off places, Pools fans know all too well how quickly things can change. Indeed, Pools were top of the National League at the end of August in the 2023/24 campaign, only for a bad run of results to see them plummet down the table and into a relegation battle by October. Likewise, Pools made a strong start to last season under Darren Sarll but a lack of goals soon saw them lose their way; in fact, a 1-0 defeat to Forest Green in September seemed to spell the beginning of the end for Sarll after a controversial post-match interview.
Despite some bad omens, even the most sceptical of supporters would struggle to dispute the fact that Pools look much stronger this season. For the most part, Pools have been rock solid at the back and Grayson's side have kept five clean sheets in eight matches. It is at the other end where there are still one of two concerns, with Pools only managing nine goals in their opening eight games and drawing a blank in two of their last three outings. While Alex Reid, who scored an impressive 17 times in 32 games for a struggling Wealdstone side last term, has made a reasonable start and is the club's leading scorer with three goals so far this season, fellow new arrival Danny Johnson has failed to open his account and lost his place in the team last week. There's a lot of pressure on the Pools front line to replace the goals lost by the departing Mani Dieseruve, who scored 43 goals in 89 matches during a prolific spell at Victoria Park and has already struck seven times in seven appearances after sealing a move to well-fancied Rochdale over the summer. Pools simply have to find a formula to get their attackers firing - and Grayson suggested his side could look to welcome new additions over the coming weeks.
For their part, Brackley have enjoyed a decent start to life in the fifth tier after being crowned National League North champions last term. Gavin Cowan's side enjoyed a memorable campaign last season and knocked Pools out of the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage, the final game of the aforementioned Darren Sarll's tumultuous tenure. Although the Saints are without a win in their last four, the Northamptonshire side have only lost twice this season, and one of those was a narrow defeat to promotion contenders Carlisle. Pools will have to be at their absolute best if they're to bounce back following last Saturday's disappointing defeat at the leaders.
"We've got to have a positive mindset," Grayson told the official club website.
"It tests you when you lose matches, but I think we've got a strong mentality. The proof will be in the pudding when we see how we approach it at home. We want to try and win every home game because of how we play. In the last two home games, we went down to 10 men (against Boreham Wood) and then we should have won the game against Boston, we had plenty of chances and then we conceded from a throw-in.
"We've been good at home and we've got to make sure we continue that with a positive start. It'll be a different type of game I'm sure, but we'll be prepared as well as we were against Forest Green. I thought the attention to detail from the players was there for everybody to see."