Bates rallies troops ahead of crucial weekend in the National League

Hartlepool United manager Matthew Bates his urged his side to resume their impressive away form when they travel to high flying Sutton United tomorrow.
Pools have suffered two disappointing home defeats over the past week which has kept them just three points above the drop zone in the battle to stay in the National League, however Bates’ side have picked up maximum points from their past two away games.
The Hartlepool manager believes that the 3G pitch at Gander Green Lane could suit his side’s style of football and Bates has urged his players to play with confidence tomorrow. the 31-year-old told Hartlepool’s official club website, “The lads know what we expect, we have a gameplan and we have worked on that in training so let’s go there and look forward to that challenge.
“I think at Maidstone on their plastic pitch we knocked the ball around nicely and we’ve done well on pitches where we’ve been able to move it around so I want us to play with confidence.
“There is no set target, it’s just about getting points on board as quickly as possible to make sure we’re safe – it won’t be an easy game on Saturday but we’ll be going there looking for the win.”