Simon Grayson refuses to rule our possibility of rotating his side ahead of Altrincham clash
Hartlepool United manager Simon Grayson refused to rule out the possibility of making changes to his side ahead of Tuesday night's trip to Altrincham.
The National League is notorious for its relentless schedule and Pools are set for a busy run of fixtures, with Grayson's side due to play six matches in 18 days. Following two bruising encounters against Yeovil and Braintree, Pools can expect a different sort of test when they take on an Altrincham side who finished ninth last season in midweek. Phil Parkinson, who has been in charge of the Robins since 2017, making him the club's longest-serving manager in a single spell in Alty's history, is renowned for setting his teams up to play expansive, attractive and attacking football.
Altrincham endured a challenging summer as many of their star performers were poached by rivals; Regan Linney, who scored 24 goals in 43 games last season, signed for Carlisle, Alex Newby, who provided 15 goals and 15 assists during an impressive campaign, left to join York while popular winger Justin Amaluzor completed a move to Grimsby. Nonetheless, the Robins have been hard at work in a bid to bolster their depleted squad and have welcomed a whole host of new faces over the summer, including Billy Sass-Davies, who impressed for Pools last term, Boston's Keaton Ward, Sheffield Wednesday's under-21 captain Sam Reed as well as strikers Jimmy Knowles and James Gale. Pools fans can also look forward to seeing a familiar face in Tom Crawford, who has been a regular in the Altrincham's midfield since leaving Victoria Park in the summer of 2024.
"Rotation is a possibility," Grayson told The Red Radio.
"The one thing we've got is a good squad, you see the lads that have come off the bench and, again, the lads that weren't even on the bench. That's something to decide on Monday when I see and assess everybody; we'll just see where it goes."