Six things for Keith Curle to address at Hartlepool United after Paul Hartley exit

It’s been a difficult opening period to the season for Hartlepool, with Hartley managing just one win in 11 games in charge before he was relieved of his duties following the 2-0 defeat at Sutton United.

Curle arrives at the Suit Direct Stadium with Pools sitting 23rd in League Two, winless and harbouring the worst defensive record in the division.

It means the 58-year-old has plenty of work to do ahead of what is already an important fixture against Gillingham at the weekend.

And here, at The Mail, we go through some of the key things for Curle to address following his appointment.

Improve morale

Before a ball is even kicked, Curle needs to endeavour to bring harmony back to the club. And that’s not just between the players in the dressing room, that is a harmony among the staff, coaching and otherwise, and a harmony between the club and its supporters.

Despite a new era under Hartley in the summer, there have been elements of the club out of sync with one another - where the usually buoyant Suit Direct Stadium has been somewhat simmered, before results and performances have taken things off the boil almost completely.

Curle’s appointment hands everybody the chance of a clean slate, an opportunity for everybody to pull in the same direction and get back on the same hymn sheet.

And one way in which Curle can help achieve that is with performances on the pitch, which is where the dressing room morale becomes key.

In the final embers of Hartley’s reign it became clear there has been unsettlement from certain corners of the dressing room while, The Mail understands, relationships have been fractured elsewhere within the club during Hartley’s tenure.

The return of Antony Sweeney to the first team set-up is the first significant step in boosting that morale, as Curle will get three days from his arrival on Wednesday to seek an immediate response in trying to galvanise the club.

Address fitness concerns

As Hartley’s time with the club began to unravel, the fitness of players became, and remains, a concern.

In too many games already this season, we have seen Pools second best in terms of their match sharpness with players fatiguing and being vulnerable late in games.

While many of the arrivals in the summer have either struggled for game time in recent months, or not enjoyed much of a pre-season, as per Hartley, you would expect certain levels to have started to be met at this point in the season.

Defensive organisation and discipline

Although every football manager, player and supporter worth their salt would rather play free-flowing, high-scoring, attractive football, sometimes you need to be a little more pragmatic.

Unfortunately for Pools, they have been sub-par at both ends of the field.

But it is defensively where Curle will need to address first and foremost.

Having conceded 17 goals in nine games, Pools possess the leakiest defence in the league and, although they continue to struggle in front of goal, the foundation of earning points will come from a solid base.

Hartley’s side have kept three clean sheets this season, but with an expected goals (xG) against of 1.97 and a shots against per game average of almost 14, you can see why Pools have had problems.

If Curle can keep clean sheets, at least Pools can get out of the habit of losing.

Breaking the streak

And getting out of the habit of losing is something that needs doing sooner, rather than later.

As a club, Pools have not won a league game since March 18 in a 3-2 win over Newport County at Rodney Parade. That was 18 games ago.

It is the longest winless streak in the entire EFL and is a necessity for Curle to find a way, any way at this stage, to win and snap that unwanted streak.

Settle on a system

So far this season we have seen Hartley utilise five different systems in just 11 games.

And while having a number of tactical approaches available to you is beneficial, particularly for in-game transitions, those constant changes from game-to-game do little to help continuity for a side still trying to gel with one another.

It may then be practical for Curle to settle on a preferred system in the formative stages of his tenure in order to garner a more settled side.

After a similarly sporadic tactical start to his promotion winning season with Northampton Town in 2019/20, Curle would settle into a 3-4-2-1 approach for much of the second half of the campaign, including their play-off final success over Exeter City, as per FBREF.

And a back three was Curle’s preferred method during his spell with Oldham Athletic in the opening months of last season which lends itself, again, to Pools' most recent approach.

Hit the ground running

It goes without saying for any new manager that hitting the ground running is significant.

Hartley found out to his detriment just how damaging it can be the longer a wait for a win goes on.

And Curle will be presented with, arguably, the best possible opportunity to do so with the visit of Gillingham on Saturday, a side who have scored just two goals in the league this season and sit one place above Pools in the table.