Wes McDonald assesses Hartlepool United’s current ‘feel-good factor’ ahead of clash with Carlisle United

Keith Curle’s side secured victory last time out against Doncaster Rovers through Wes McDonald’s third goal of the season.

After receiving a pass from David Ferguson, McDonald’s ingenuity fashioned an opening before he slammed the ball home, much to the delight of the home fans.

McDonald was the coolest man in the stadium in the 86th minute on Tuesday night and it was a goal that the 25-year-old admits he practices for in training.

McDonald told the Mail: “Usually around those areas, I work on it so much in training. That’s the kind of area I want the ball the most so I know when I’m in those kinds of areas what I want to do before I get there.

“But the main thing is to just remain calm, don’t rush it, be composed and then execute what you want to do.

“Naturally coming off the bench you want to show what you can do and make an impact straight away.

“As you know everyone wants to start but not everyone can start so naturally, you want to make an impact and my game is scoring and creating chances.”

Up next for McDonald and Pools is another home clash, this time against Carlisle United as they search for back-to-back victories.

Saturday’s clash sees Hartlepool’s new management team of Curle, Colin West and Antony Sweeney come up against familiar opponents and McDonald believes Pools can carry the momentum garnered against Doncaster Rovers into this weekend’s game.

When asked about preparations for Carlisle, McDonald said: “In previous games we’ve been a bit unlucky, we’ve been getting draws so when I scored that one I just thought ‘yeah, that’s three points that we’ve put away and in the bag’.

“Everyone was just buzzing with the three points. There’s a feel-good factor and everyone is just buzzing, the whole squad, everyone.

“It’s a vital win. Like I said we’ve been a bit unlucky in previous games but I think now we can kick start it off and go again.

“There’s a feel-good factor now coming off a win, so I think it’s great for the squad and everyone around the club so hopefully we can push on.”