Hartlepool United manager John Askey says Pools have 'nothing to fear' against Cobblers

Hartlepool United manager John Askey has described Saturday’s League Two fixture against Northampton as a ‘huge game’ for his side and ‘one we have to win’ in their battle to avoid the drop.

The Pools, who have flirted with relegation all season, appointed their third different manager of the campaign when Askey replaced Keith Curle last month, with his first two games ending in draws against Walsall and Tranmere.

Hartlepool are three points clear of the relegation zone and have not won in six games.

Askey said: "We are trying to do a bit at a time and I thought it was a strong away performance at Tranmere but now we have to replicate that. There’s no point doing it one Saturday and then standards drop the following Saturday.

"This weekend is a huge game for us and one we have to win. Every game now is like a cup final and I don’t think it matters who we play in this league, if we can play at our maximum, then we have a great chance of winning any game, especially at home.

"We have to start bright and we need to get the crowd going. Northampton were in League One not so long ago and they have good players but there’s nothing to fear. I always think that the biggest thing to fear as a footballer is yourself but we are coming off two decent results so we have to be positive and the players should be reasonably confident.”

Tom Crawford and 13-goal top scorer Josh Umerah could both return for Hartlepool this weekend but Alex Lacey and Dan Dodds are likely to miss out.