Pools facing busy spell of tough League One games

Hartlepool have been handed a fixture they didn’t really want after being told they must travel to London for their rearranged game against Charlton next Tuesday night. It’s not that they didn’t want to play Charlton, but boss Chris Turner would rather have played the game later in the season.

However, the new date was down to Charlton and the Football League, and it means Pools have effectively been ordered to make the trip.
After Saturday’s home game against MK Dons, Pools face two games a week for a fortnight before the end of the month, three of them difficult trips at the end of relatively long journeys.
The Charlton game is followed next Saturday (January 23) with one of the longest trips of the season to Bristol Rovers, then Gillingham visit the Vic on Tuesday January 26, before Pools go to Norwich the following Saturday.
And just when you might think a difficult spell was coming to an end, February kicks off with Leeds United (Feb 6 – home),Southampton (Feb 13 – away) and Huddersfield (Feb 20 – home).
Not a lot of easy games there, then.
Turner told the club website: “We were looking to rearrang further down the line when there wouldn’t be as much travelling for our fans. But it was out of our hands and we have to abide by the date set by Charlton and the Football League.
“From our point of view we will play Charlton at any time they want us to, but we are only one game behind and there seemed to be lots of other times we could have played the game.’’
Before all that travelling, though, Pools face MK Dons this weekend, weather permitting.
The Vic is playable now (Wednesday), but some weather forecasts suggest more snow could be on the way to the area and nothing can be taken for granted.
With Joe Gamble busting to play after his signing from Cork earlier in the month, there’s more good news for Pools on the playing front with Gary Liddle, Denis Behan and Steve Haslam fit again, and they will join Gamble in the frame for Saturday’s game.
Skipper Sam Collins is still out, but Ben Clark (right) is an ideal deputy.
With so many difficult looking games coming up, getting as many points as possible will be vital in the next few weeks as Pools battle to stay in mid-table or, if possible, to improve on that.
Training has been disrupted by the weather, but at this stage of the season Pools’ fitness levels should be good anyway and they know as well as anybody else that winning at home it vital.