Uncertainty surrounds Hartlepool United's National League match with Sutton United once again ahead of crucial vote – Dave Challinor previews top of the table clash

In March 2020, Pools travelled to Gander Green Lane to play out a 1-1 draw against Sutton in what would prove to be their final match of the season as it was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Almost 11 months on and uncertainty surrounds the National League season with fears it could be cancelled once again due to a lack of grant funding from the DCMS.

The Pools boss is cautiously hopeful that the National League season will continue ahead of Monday’s vote despite calls from National League North and South clubs to curtail the campaign.

And for the second season running, Pools will face Sutton with the backdrop of not knowing how the season will conclude.

But unlike last season, Saturday’s match at Victoria Park is very much a top of the table clash as Challinor’s side look to retake second place off their south London opponents.

“It’s a bit of deja vu, we played them just before lockdown almost a year ago,” he said.

“They’ve got eight outfield players the same as what played against us at the end of last season. That continuity has really helped them this season and they’re a really good side, well organised and a threat from lots of different areas.

"They’ve got two willing centre-forwards and two wide players with good quality who want to get forward. They’re in the position they deserve to be in.

"I watched their game at Torquay and some teams go to Torquay and look to get a point but they went to win the game and should have won the game in my opinion [it finished 0-0], so we know it will be really tough.

"It’s a massive game in terms of how the table looks and we’ll have to be bang at it.”

While the situation surrounding Saturday’s match with Sutton draws comparisons to last season’s match, Challinor admitted the overall feeling going into the game is very different when put into context.

When Pools last faced Sutton, only 10 people in the UK were confirmed to have died after testing positive for coronavirus – now the figure has passed the 100,000 mark. “I doesn’t really feel similar to the last time we played Sutton just because of what has since happened,” he added.

“Last year, we went to Sutton with real naivety around the situation because we had no idea about what this virus entailed or the impact it could have.

"We went to it a bit flippantly and we weren’t fully aware of the consequences that would transpire 11 months down the line.

"Things were also uncertain because the Premier League had stopped so there were a lot of individual opinions flying around whether we should play or not.

"Those opinions were based on very little but we’re in a position now where everyone is a lot more educated, for better or worse, around what has gone on.

"The horrible nature of it is, 11 months down the line, 100,000 people in this country have lost their lives to a virus that when we last played Sutton we thought it couldn’t really impact us – it really puts things into perspective.”

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