Pools' long-term future looking bright

With three games out of four at home up to the end of March, Hartlepool United have a great chance to tighten their grip on a comfortable place in the middle of the League One table.

The run starts with Stevenage at the Vic on Saturday, followed by Oldham at home three days later. Pools then go to Yeovil on March 24 before ending the month with a Saturday home game against Sheffield United.

Having spent much of the season ion mid-table, specially once they recovered from that awful run of home defeats, Pools should certainly avoid the end-of-season nerves that have featured too many recent seasons.

But with injuries posing problems for manager Neale Cooper’s planning, it won’t be easy.

The calf injury suffered by Sam Collins before last weekend’s game at Walsall looks like keeping him out for some time, just the latest injury to give Cooper a headache.

The form of young Jack Baldwin in Collins’s place gave Pools and the travelling fans a glimpse into what could be a terrific future for the kid from Kent, but Cooper would prefer to give teenagers a gentle baptism rather than force them through.

But with noises coming from the nearby Civic Centre to suggest that after years of negotiations, Pools could get the Vic back from the Council for nothing, the long-term future could be bright.

But in the short term,  play-off hopefuls Stevenage won’t be an easy team to beat on Saturday, but with a host of clubs battling for what could be just one remaining play-off place – the top five places look booked – there are a few six-pointers over the coming weeks.

Hopefully Saturday's game will be a better one to watch than the goalless bore at Walsall was.