Craig Hignett discusses his attacking philosophy, one month in the job and Hartlepool United’s stunning scoring record

Pools are on a fine run in front of goal, having netted in each of their last 16 outings in all competitions.

And while that is a remarkable record, Hignett is eyeing further improvements.

The Hartlepool boss will be hoping to see his side extend that run to 17 games when they travel to Boreham Wood tomorrow afternoon (3pm kick-off).

And Hignett insists he will approach the clash exactly the same way he would a home game - with Pools looking to get on the front foot.

“I’m looking to attack and go and score goals,” he said.

“It’s been tough. Scoring goals has been a problem with us.

“We have a group of players who I believe can score goals.

“We’re on a run of 16 games where we’ve scored in every game, so we’re confident that when we go into games we’ll score a goal.

But Hignett isn’t happy with just one goal - he’s keen to see his side start to put opposition teams to the sword.

You have to go back to March 2018 for the last time Pools scored three goals in a league fixture, during a 3-3 draw with AFC Fylde.

That’s a run their manager is keen to see ended as soon as possible - with the 49-year-old well aware that a solitary goal often won’t suffice.

“Scoring one goal sometimes isn’t enough in this league,” he added.

“Scoring two sometimes isn’t enough.

“We haven’t scored three goals, apart from the Gillingham game which went to extra time, all season in the league.

“That’s something which has been a concern since I took the job over and we’re trying to address it.

“I think there’s signs that, sooner rather than later, we will score three in a game.”

Hartlepool arguably couldn’t enter the clash at Meadow Park in any better shape - with a 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient last weekend boosting morale on and off the pitch.

That followed a hard-fought victory over Braintree in what was Hignett’s first game back in the dugout.

And he now wants to see his side kick-on and mount a good run of form - but has warned them that standards cannot be allowed to slip in what is an unforgiving division.

“I think it’s massively important,” said the Pools boss, of stringing together a good run of form.

“There is a belief in the lads that they can go on a run, and doing it against the league leaders gives them a little bit more belief that what they’re doing is right and they’re on the right tracks.

“But we can’t let our standards slip.

“We’ve set the bar now, especially in the last one and a half games. That’s the level that we shouldn’t dip below.

“Training has been really bright the last couple of weeks and we can be a match for anyone.

“But they can’t let their standards slip, because as soon as you do that in this league you’ll get found out.”

The trip to Boreham Wood signals almost a month since Hignett returned to the dugout on a permanent basis - and he’s delighted with how his players have reacted since his appointment.

Improvements have been noticable in recent weeks and the Pools boss has praised his players for their desire to continue bettering themselves, which has in turn allowed him to implement an attractive brand of attacking football.

“They’ve taken everything on board that I’ve said.

“I’ve got a really good group of players who want to learn, who want to get better and better themselves.

“They’ve all had a right good go at what we want to do.

“They all want to attack, they all want to pass the ball and run forward.

“We’ve got a system that everyone knows what their jobs are in.

“We’ve asked them to do one or two different things, going forward certainly.

“But you’ve still got to be diligent at the back and we’ve had a good mix between getting numbers forward and being sensible when getting people behind the ball.

“The mood has been really good in training and they’ve been really bright.”