Why there is disappointment in the Hartlepool United dressing room despite their eight-match unbeaten run

Hartlepool boss Dave Challinor says his squad have been disappointed in recent weeks – despite an eight-match unbeaten run.
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Pools are second in the National League table, six points behind leaders Sutton, who also have three games in hand.

Challinor’s side haven’t lost since they were beaten 2-1 at Eastleigh in the middle of February, yet five of their last eight matches have ended in draws.

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"We can take positives and negatives from the run but if I was offered now to go unbeaten for the rest of the season then I’d absolutely take it,” said Challinor following a 2-2 draw at King’s Lynn last time out.

Hartlepool United boss Dave Challinor.Hartlepool United boss Dave Challinor.
Hartlepool United boss Dave Challinor.

“With the games we’ve got left, if we can win half of them and draw half of them, we’ll be in a good position come the end of the season.

"We’d love to win more than that obviously but getting into a habit of not losing games always leaves us with a chance of going on to grab three points.”

Challinor also believes the players’ disappointment shows how much the team has progressed over the last few months.

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"The lads are disappointed which shows how far we’ve come,” the Pools boss added. “We’ve not lost and picked something up. We have to take the positives out of it but learn from it.

“They’re disappointed because looking at the other results, everyone seems to have gone Sutton’s way. We hope on Saturday, every result goes our way and we win at home against Woking.”

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