Pools in the mood for another giant-killing

Unbeaten and looking a better team than last season, Hartlepool United have every right to feel confident as they go for yet another Carling Cup giant-killing when Premiership strugglers Wigan visit Victoria Park on Tuesday night, even though it's less than a week since the manager sprung a shock by quitting his job.

Older Pools fans will remember playing Wigan in the League, but they are a different proposition, now even after losing both their opening Premiership games heavily.
Beaten 4-0 at home by Blackpool, they then lost 6-0 at home to Chelsea at the weekend, when Pools were producing an excellent League One win at Yeovil.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez will be under pressure to inspire a result at the Vic and while there is an obvious gulf in class between the two teams, Pools have a good recent record against so-called better teams, and despite the loss of Chris Turner, the spirit in the squad appears to be high.
Caretaker manager Mick Wadsworth is undecided whether he wants the job permanently, but he says he's at home as a coach on the training pitch and current signals from him suggest Pools will have to try to appoint a manager to work with him.
Wadsworth and captain Sam Collins have both paid glowing tributes to Turner and it really does appear that there was no question of the staff being as glad to see the back of him as some fans were.
But life goes on and the Yeovil result suggest the players are treating the situation in a professional manner.
Wigan are wobbling - a Pools win would really start the alarm bells ringing for them, and create a very interesting situation at the Vic as the club looks for a new manager.